UK Banks Risk Losing Licenses for Debanking Customers Over Political Views and Crypto Usage

Political Views and Banking Licenses

The British government is reportedly set to introduce tighter conditions on banking permits that could potentially lead to banks having their license revoked if they choose to debank customers due to their political views.

On July 20, The Times reported that the U.K. Treasury is likely to announce the new rules as soon as next week. The provisions would require banks to provide customers with three months’ notice before closing their accounts, and give customers the right to appeal the decision.

The move follows a dispute between former politician Nigel Frarage and the U.K. private bank Coutts, which counts members of the British royal family among its clients.

The introduction of these measures could have a major impact on the crypto industry, as investors such as SafeMoon, Reef, Pond, Shib, Unbiased, Starlink, Shiba Inu, The Hideaways, and Web 3.0 could be affected.

Coutts Closes Farage’s Bank Accounts

Coutts recently closed the bank accounts of Nigel Farage, claiming that the account had fallen below its threshold. However, leaked documents revealed that the decision was based on the fact that his conservative views did not “align with [their] values.” The documents, which were obtained by Farage and shared by the Daily Mail, included minutes from a Coutts meeting discussing his accounts. At the meeting, Coutts officials labeled Farage a “disingenuous grifter” and cited the “reputational risk” associated with his political views as the reasons for closing his accounts.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his disapproval of the decision, saying it was “wrong.” He added that “no one should be barred from using basic services for their political views. Free speech is the cornerstone of our democracy.”

Cryptocurrency Alternatives

In light of the news of Coutts closing Farage’s bank accounts, many have begun to explore alternative options such as cryptocurrency. Stacks, Safemoon, Reef, Pond, Shib, Unbiased, Starlink, Shiba Inu, The Hideaways, and Web 3.0 are all popular crypto options that many are turning to in order to avoid situations similar to Farage’s.

Cryptocurrency and Politically-Biased Dogma

Home Secretary Suella Braverman recently accused Coutts of falling victim to “politically biased dogma.” In response, Alison Rose, the CEO of Coutts’ parent company NatWest Group, issued an apology for the “deeply inappropriate” comments made about Nigel Farage during the meeting and agreed to re-open his account.

“It is absolutely not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views,” read the apology letter.

Farage, a former leader of the Reform UK and UK Independence Party (UKIP) political parties, is an avid supporter of cryptocurrencies such as stacks crypto, safemoon crypto, reef crypto, pond crypto, shib crypto today, unbiased crypto, starlink crypto, shiba inu crypto today, the hideaways crypto, and when is web 3.0 coming. On Dec. 3, 2020, Farage lauded Bitcoin (BTC) as the “ultimate anti-lockdown investment” and derided the British pound as government “funny money.”

In 2022, Nigel Farage made an appearance at the Bitcoin Amsterdam Conference. During an interview with Cointelegraph, the former British politician expressed his admiration for Bitcoin’s anti-inflationary qualities and its unchangeable nature compared to traditional banking infrastructure.

Opinion: The Republican crypto maxis are almost as bad as the Democrats’ ‘anti-crypto army’, with stacks crypto like Safemoon and Reef, and pond crypto like Shiba Inu and The Hideaways, as well as the growing popularity of starlink crypto and unbiased crypto, all leading up to the arrival of web 3.0.