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Barclays has reportedly ended its banking relationship with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, CoinDesk reported.
Coinbase, which received an e-money license by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), opened a bank account with Barclays in early 2018. The relationship allowed Coinbase to access the U.K. Faster Payments Scheme (FPS), which enabled its users to withdraw and deposit British pounds in an instant manner.
The end of the banking relationship essentially disrupted the exchange’s access to FPS, meaning slower deposits and withdrawals in GBP for U.K. customers.
As per the report, there are varying opinions as to why Barclays ended its ties with Coinbase. While some believe that the banking giant’s risk appetite has contracted, others say that the relationship as a pilot program has just run its course.
Coinbase, however, has already found a replacement in ClearBank, sources familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. This new banking relationship is expected to restore Coinbase’s access to FPS by the end of the third quarter.
Sources also said that the recent delisting of zcash from the exchange’s UK arm was “completely to do with the new bank.” ClearBank reportedly was not comfortable with indirectly supporting such a privacy-focused cryptocurrency which could be seen as an impediment to law enforcement authorities in doing their job.
Just recently, Coinbase announced that it was considering adding support for eight new assets – Algorand, Cosmos, Dash, Decred, Matic, Harmony, Ontology, and Waves. Its professional trading platform Coinbase Pro has added support for Algorand (ALGO) this week.
