- Lykke has had to halt its GBP deposits and withdrawals after its banking partner pulled its services
- The decision takes immediate effect, leaving GBP users needing to use alternative currencies
- Lykke’s experience echoes other instances where crypto-handling entities have had their banking facilities pulled
Lykke, the Swiss blockchain financial product provider, has had to halt its GBP withdrawals and deposits after its banking partner pulled its support. The act, which takes immediate effect, is sadly another example of the kind of discrimination that cryptocurrency firms have come to accept as an occupational hazard and one that does nothing but stifle adoption.
British Customers Bear Brunt of Bank’s “Business Strategy” Change
Lykke made the announcement in an email to customers, stating that the decision had been made by the bank due to a “a change in their business strategy”. This strategy change apparently involves no longer offering their services to crypto-handling companies.
What makes things even harder for holders of GBP on the platform is that the decision takes effect immediately, requiring them to take remedial action:
Their decision is effective immediately and is unfortunately entirely outside our control. This means that, as of today, 03 June 2020 we will no longer be able to accept deposits and process withdrawals in GBP. Thus, we regret to inform you that if you want to cash out GBP, you will have to exchange it to either another fiat currency or to crypto.
The company has also experienced issues with USD deposits recently, with only USD withdrawals supported at the moment, although they add in the email that there could be some light at the end of the tunnel for those impacted:
We are working on finding alternative solutions for our GBP and USD customers and will be sure to keep you updated accordingly. Furthermore, once we have secured the FINMA license, this will facilitate the availability of new banking relationships which will enable several more current options.
Lykke Continues the Unfortunate Pattern of Events
Banks around the world are famously hesitant to deal with crypto-handling entities, especially those without licenses, like Lykke. Irish cryptocurrency firms recently complained that they were being forced to use foreign banking partners due to issues with Irish banks, while Indian crypto firms have only been allowed to access banking services due to a legal ruling in their favor by the Indian Supreme Court.
