Revolut Suspends U.S. Crypto Platform Over Regulatory Uncertainty

Digital bank Revolut is closing its U.S. crypto platform citing an uncertain regulatory environment, the firm confirmed to CoinDesk.

U.S. customers will not be able to buy crypto via Revolut starting Sept. 2 but can continue to sell for 30 more days before access is fully disabled, a letter sent by the bank to local clients said.

The platform said it took the "difficult decision" with its local banking partner to halt operations because of an "evolving regulatory environment" and "uncertainties around the crypto market" in the U.S. Regulators in the country, led by the Securities and Exchange Commission, have been cracking down on crypto, targeting exchange platforms like Coinbase (COIN) and Binance, as well as a host of individual tokens including Solana's SOL, Cardano's ADA and Polygon's MATIC, alleging violations of federal laws.

After the tokens were categorized as unregistered securities by the SEC in a lawsuit, several platforms including Robinhood and Revolut said they would end support for the tokens on U.S. platforms.

"This decision has not been taken lightly, and we understand the disappointment this may cause. This suspension does not affect Revolut users outside of the U.S. in any way, and impacts less than 1% of Revolut’s crypto customers globally. Revolut customers in all other markets can continue to sign up and enjoy using our crypto services," a spokesperson for Revolut said in an email to CoinDesk.

The London-headquartered Revolut, which has around 25 million customers worldwide, offers a range of crypto services including trading and staking in multiple – mainly European – jurisdictions.

"Revolut is actively pursuing alternative means of providing access to crypto products and we hope to offer crypto in the U.S. again in the future," a spokesperson for the bank told Decrypt.

Read more: Digital Bank Revolut to Offer Crypto Staking

Update (Aug. 4, 11:56 UTC): Adds more detail throughout.

Sheldon Reback contributed reporting.