The CEO of deVere criticizes the UK banks’ crypto enforcement as an “overreaching diktat”
Major institutions in the United Kingdom have been criticized for imposing restrictions on clients who invest in cryptocurrencies.
Nigel Green, the chief executive officer of deVere Group, a prominent independent financial advisory, asset manager, and fintech company, referred to these measures as an “outrageous, overreaching diktat” against account holders.
Reports indicate that some of the nation’s largest institutions, including HSBC and Nationwide, have imposed daily limits on consumers, restricted credit cards from purchasing cryptocurrencies, and even temporarily suspended accounts.
Green argues that banks have no right to control the personal financial decisions of their customers and that such restrictions violate their privacy, rights, and ability to manage their funds.
“Your bank has no right to advise you how or what to invest in if what you intend to invest in is entirely lawful – as crypto is in the United Kingdom. This kind of control over people’s private, personal financial decisions sounds like something from Orwell’s 1984 and goes against the values of Britain’s proud banking heritage.”
While the banks assert that these safeguards are in place to protect their consumers, Green argues that they imply that potentially illegal activity is unique to cryptocurrencies and not the traditional financial system.
In addition, he mentions that institutional investors are increasing their exposure to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), with MicroStrategy purchasing 6,455 Bitcoins over the past five weeks.
Mr. Green emphasized that investors are drawn to cryptocurrencies for a variety of reasons, such as portfolio diversification, the possibility of high returns, protection against inflation, and access to a new asset class.
The chief executive officer of deVere also cautioned that banks should not impose similar restrictions on other areas where consumers may or may not decide to invest, such as alcohol, tobacco, energy, or political donations to parties they consider inappropriate.
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