National Westminster Bank (also known as NatWest), will not serve business clients that accept payments in cryptocurrencies, The Guardian has learned. The UK-based bank considers cryptocurrencies as "high risk" assets, which is why it has "no appetite for dealing with customers" that accept cryptocurrencies.
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"We have no appetite for dealing with customers, whether taking them on as new clients or having an ongoing relationship with people, whose main business is backed by an exchange for cryptocurrencies, or otherwise transacting in cryptocurrencies as their main activity," said Morten Friis, a NatWest Board Member and Head of Risk Committee.
Friis added the cryptocurrency market is still a nascent one as regulation is "very much in evolution." NatWest's protest comes after HSBC prohibited its customers from buying MicroStrategy shares due to its large investments in bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin). The bank said in a statement, it has "no appetite" for direct exposure to cryptocurrencies.
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