Coinbase CEO appeals to UK govt, urges crypto investors to ditch Chase bank accounts

On September 26, the crypto market in the United Kingdom (UK) stumbled into a supposed communication by Chase Bank UK, addressing the compulsive halt of every payment related to cryptocurrencies, entitled: “Our policy around crypto is changing.”

The message said:

“If we think you are making a payment related to crypto assets, we will decline it.”

— Chase Bank UK.

This information was supposedly shared via an email and signed by “The Chase Team”. In this line, the news was spreading fast among various media outlets and social networks, such as X (formerly Twitter).

In this context, Brian Armstrong — CEO of Coinbase — deemed the bank’s behavior “totally inappropriate”, on September 26.

Chase Bank is the retail branch of JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) group. So far, there have been no public announcements by either of the related companies, which raised doubts regarding the legitimacy of the described decision, although users have already complained about having their banking accounts closed due to crypto-related payments.

Coinbase CEO calls for a boycott against Chase UK

Moreover, the Coinbase CEO questioned how this behavior could possibly be aligned with the United Kingdom Prime Minister’s, Rishi Sunak, and the government’s vision — who had already manifested a will to convert the UK into a global cryptoasset technology hub.

Following the questioning, Brian Armstrong also urged “UK crypto holders” to close their Chase bank accounts, “if this is how they’re going to be treated”, in his words.

Interestingly, some crypto enthusiasts started manifesting their will to close their Chase accounts, following the recommended solution by the team in the supposed email, where they wrote:

“If you would still like to invest in crypto assets, you can try using a different bank or provider instead”.

— Chase Bank UK

Alex Valaitis (@alex_valaitis, 36 thousand followers on X) is one of the crypto enthusiasts who stated that this email “signals the end of my relationship with Chase.” Other supposed customers joined the thread to express they were also planning to follow the boycott.

JPMorgan Chase & Co stocks analysis

Despite recent developments, JPM shares closed September 26 with daily gains and are currently being traded at $145.19 per share on another slightly positive day.

Nevertheless, JPMorgan Chase & Co stock has suffered through a tough week, losing over 3% in the last seven days. 

The market now awaits further confirmation on the crypto-related payment halts that should occur by October 16 from the United Kingdom’s retail branch, per the supposed email.