Did Barclays Just Declare War on Bitcoin Users?

UK bank Barclays has suspended the account of local cryptocurrency news resource Coinjournal without warning or explanation, it emerged today.

Also read: BitPay Offers Financial Services to RT Following Bank Account Freeze

Coinjournal Founder: Bank Gave No Warning or Explanation

In a tweet earlier Thursday, journalist Kyle Torpey stated it “seemed” the bank had suspended Coinjournal’s account “for using and being associated with [Bitcoin].”

It seems @Barclays has shut down @CoinJournal's bank account for using and being associated with #Bitcoin.

— Kyle Torpey (@kyletorpey) October 27, 2016

The move follows similar complaints about Barclays’ blocking transactions related to Bitcoin trading this week. The bank is already known for its sporadic shutdowns of accounts associated with entities dealing in Bitcoin.

Speaking to Bitcoin.com, Coinjournal founder Oliver Carding said the decision had taken the business by surprise.

“Considering the size of or business… and the amount of money involved, we are surprised that we’ve been considered high risk,” he said, adding that Barclays gave “no warning” of the impending block.

“When asked for more information about which rule we’d broken they would not give us explicit information and referred us to their terms and conditions,” he explained.

Further Barclays Delays and Blocks Reported

It’s not just businesses which Barclays has stung with its latest move. One Localbitcoins trader told Bitcoin.com that transactions from their private account to users settling trades had been disrupted since the beginning of the week.

Having received a message via the bank’s online banking service stating transactions were being “delayed,” a telephone conversation saw Barclays avoid direct comment.

“They did not even mentioned fraud or anything; the last representative I spoke to didn’t give a proper answer,” the user said. “They just said that the account that I’m trying to send money too has been blocked and that there are issues with Barclays.”

Elsewhere, Barclays has given mixed messages regarding its stance on blockchain technology. In contrast to its seemingly suspicious treatment of Bitcoin, the bank has joined many other legacy institutions in championing blockchain’s potential.

In February, Head of Open Innovation Arian Lewis even went as far as to question “whether Barclays was really a tech company.” On the topic of Blockchain innovation in Africa, Lewis added that the technology “could be the most significant social and political innovation to impact Africa in 100 years.”

Hindrance to Bitcoin Adoption

However, such evangelism provides little meaning for the banks’ marooned account holders.

“It’s a very familiar tale unfortunately and it’s a huge hindrance for adoption worldwide, not just in the U.K,” Carding concluded.

He added Coinjournal was in the process of reaching out to contacts in the cryptocurrency space and hoped to have a resolution worked out in the coming weeks.

What do you think about Barclays’ move to block Bitcoin-related accounts? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images via Shutterstock, Barclays

If you would like more information on the UK’s history in regulating Bitcoin business, search our News section or post your queries in the Bitcoin.com Forum.

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