UK bank Starling bans crypto-related purchases and deposits citing high risk

Starling has prohibited its customers from buying cryptocurrencies with their bank cards or receiving transfers from crypto merchants. New

Starling, a UK-based digital bank, is the latest financial institution to ban crypto-related transfers and activities for its cardholders.

Starling customers will no longer be able to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or receive inbound transfers from crypto exchanges or merchants.

The online bank announced the news in a statement to customers as well as on Twitter, citing the perceived high risks of crypto trading.

Hello We are still reviewing our position on financial crime. We consider crypto activity to be high risk. We have made the decision to prevent all card payments to crypto merchants and put in place new restrictions on outgoing and incoming transfers.

The bank also described cryptocurrencies as "high risk and widely used for criminal purposes".

A Starling spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the bank has had "varying degrees" of restrictions on cryptocurrency-related transactions for some time. “We recently tightened restrictions on inbound and outbound card and wire transfer transactions,” the rep said, adding:

​​“The innovative technology and thinking behind cryptocurrencies have great potential benefits, however, at present they are high risk and widely used for criminal purposes and as such , we no longer support them."

The bank's actions come amid the ongoing industry scandal involving FTX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges that allegedly embezzled user funds with its sister company Alameda. According to FTX's bankruptcy filing, the company