Cryptocurrency has been behind a lot of news this year – from Bitcoin hitting US$80,000 to Hong Kong launching its own fiat-backed stablecoin. Meanwhile, the spotlight is on a flood of financial influencers – the self-described ‘finfluencers’ – many of whom promote crypto as a socially positive or low‑risk opportunity, while operating with undisclosed incentives, referral arrangements, or personal holdings.

But is this sudden newsworthiness a simple sign of crypto’s increasing popularity? Or just that some of the more freewheeling aspects of the cryptocurrency scene are finally coming up against some of the fundamentals of mature, regulated economies?

Because if money is changing, so is the framework for using it. Regulators, governments and financial institutions globally have been busy at work, making sure we’re well placed for the opportunities – as well as the threats – the rise of cryptocurrency presents. And on this fast-evolving financial frontier, the Bank is playing a leading role in shaping the future. 

For some, cryptocurrency has become a ‘hot’ asset. With the increase in value of established kinds of cryptocurrency like bitcoin, ‘buying crypto’ has been cast by financial influencers – sometimes including high-profile billionaires, media personalities and tech leaders– as a path to speculative success.   

For others, the attraction of cryptocurrency has traditionally been its existence outside of regulated national economies, in which currency flow is determined by central banks. The thing is, while that was certainly true at the outset, crypto is increasingly being brought into the scope of regulation globally, as governments, law enforcement and financial sectors have worked overtime, not just to catch up, but to seize the momentum, and ensure this new form of money works for everyone.

The previously unregulated nature of cryptocurrency has made it uniquely vulnerable to manipulation by bad-faith actors, such as scammers and market manipulators.

With the growth of crypto, increasing risks have arrived, posed by scammers redoubling their activity alongside traditional fiat scams, exploiting the speed of crypto adoption and the sheer number of new-to-crypto victims, to trick customers out of millions of pounds each month. 

Scammers often set up fake cryptocurrency exchanges online, attracting bogus investments by touting high returns. These platforms present themselves as legitimate trading platforms, but only lure people in by mimicking the appearance of legitimate exchanges, and claiming to offer opportunities that are hard to turn down. In fact, their goal is to steal your data, and your money. Luring people into fake cryptocurrency exchanges is often the goal of romance scammers, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

‘Memecoins’ – that is, cryptocurrencies set up by a celebrity or to honour a particular social media trend – have become notorious for ‘pump and dump’ tactics. According to Global Anti-Scam Alliance, this involves the founders inflating the price of an owned stock through hype, press and misleading statements to attract a glut of buyers on launch day. As this oversubscription and market demand further inflates the asset, the founder immediately sells off all of their now-overvalued shares, crashing the price, and leaving the investors with nothing. 

This year, an increasing number of public figures have launched digital tokens of their own, raising renewed questions about cryptocurrency, in terms of both conflicts of interest, and funding without oversight from unknown and unregulated sources. 

It’s worth noting that regulatory protection for consumers has been limited until now. In terms of deposits, cryptocurrency isn’t currently protected by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Meanwhile investments haven’t been regulated by the FCA either. With these instances in mind, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned about the risks associated with cryptocurrency late last year, particularly the lack of consumer protection. 

It warned that:

• Decentralised cryptoassets make compliance with disclosure and due diligence requirements more difficult.
• There is more legal uncertainty over cryptoasset ownership and location than in traditional finance.
• With overseas cryptoasset platforms dominating, there is increased risk of harm to UK users if these firms become insolvent. 
• Distributed ledger technology means there is no central authority for firms to have contractual relationships with. 

But things are changing.

In all the above instances, where traditional markets have regulatory bodies whose role is to examine anomalies, the global, decentralised and unregulated nature of cryptocurrency has made this challenging. But things are changing. The UK Government, alongside the authorities in other leading global financial centres such as Hong Kong, is acting.

On 4 February 2026, the snappily named Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 were published by the UK Government. The regulations will bring cryptoassets fully within the Government’s regulatory remit by October next year, though provisions enabling the Financial Conduct Authority to issue directions, guidance and rules are already in force at time of writing.

The FCA itself already has a cryptocurrency roadmap, detailing the evolution of its stance.

The future direction is clear. We are moving towards a “multi-money” world, and we need to be ready. That’s why the Bank is not just investing in managing the demands of growing operational and regulatory structures; it’s innovating too, to shape that future for payments.

The bank is stepping up to protect customers too. Introducing new forms of money such as cryptocurrencies means having the right safeguards ready. The Bank has the following anti-scam measures in place.

• Currently, we block or limit payments we identify as going to cryptocurrency exchanges. Since 2023, NatWest has blocked or limited Faster Payments and Debit Card transactions made to these exchanges to £1k a day and £5k in any 30-day period, until further notice. These limits apply separately to each account. This position is one under ongoing evaluation as the landscape changes, and the legal framework evolves, with strengthened protection for consumers.  
• NatWest Group has blocked the use of Credit and charge Cards to make cryptocurrency payments since 2018. Again, this situation is under ongoing reassessment. 
• Although you may have made payments to cryptocurrency exchanges previously, we continuously monitor fraud patterns and trends, adjusting our restrictions to keep you, and your money, safe and secure.
• In a fast-changing landscape, the bank is taking a leading role in ensuring cryptocurrency is adopted in ways that are safe, sustainable and responsible – and most importantly, that both protect our customers, and ensure they are well positioned for the advantages offered by cryptocurrency as it clears the path to general acceptance and adoption. 
• That said, in the immediate term we can also help by broadening out the conversation, to investments, that could offer some measure of safety for you in addition to helping you grow your money. From investments to saving, including the benefits of our unique relationship with Coutts that opens up additional investment options, your Premier team will be able help you explore further.

In the meantime, cryptocurrency continues to be an ever-changing landscape. If you still wish to explore, there are a host of differences between different cryptocurrency firms, and classes. Whilst we can’t provide advice on any particular cryptocurrency exchange, we would encourage our customers to seek independent financial advice via a trusted advisor or firm.