Revolut launches standalone crypto trading platform for UK retail customers

Global fintech company Revolut rolled out Revolut X on Tuesday — a standalone crypto trading platform available to its UK retail customers.

The firm launched in the UK offering money transfers in 2015 and began allowing users to buy, hold and exchange cryptocurrencies in 2017. Since then, it has become the UK’s largest fintech company and has reached more than 40 million customers worldwide.

Revolut said the new platform was aimed at competing with leading crypto exchanges by offering easy on/off-ramping and low fees, according to a statement shared with The Block. Though the firm stated that the platform was designed for professional traders, it is available on desktop for all UK users with a Revolut retail account from today.

Revolut X traders can trade more than 100 tokens with fixed 0% maker and 0.09% taker fees regardless of their trading volume, the firm said. The platform will initially launch with the same assets already available on the Revolut retail app, including bitcoin, ether and XRP, a Revolut spokesperson told The Block, but it plans to expand this in the coming months.

UK Revolut retail account holders can simply access the new platform and sign in using their existing credentials, the spokesperson added. Users can also trade from fiat to crypto and vice versa between Revolut X and Revolut with no limits or fees, the firm said.

“We are excited by the introduction of our new crypto product, and believe this top-tier trading platform will change the game for experienced crypto traders, providing them with a safe and accessible place to trade,” Revolut Head of Crypto Exchange Product Leonid Bashlykov said. “We understand that competitive fees as well as easy on and off ramping are at the heart of what experienced traders want from a crypto platform.”

The launch of Revolut X follows the firm’s introduction of Revolut Ramp in March. Through a partnership with MetaMask developer Consensys, users can purchase crypto directly in their Web3 wallets.

Challenging regulatory environment

The rollout marks Revolut’s renewed interest in crypto service offerings following the halt of crypto trading for its UK business clients and the termination of its U.S. crypto services amid a challenging regulatory environment.

In December, Revolut said it was halting crypto trading for its UK business customers from Jan. 3. Though its retail customers were unaffected, its business users could no longer buy crypto using the platform and were instead limited to holding or selling their assets.

In an email to clients at the time Revolut said it was "suspending the services to give it more time to adjust to new requirements set by the Financial Conduct Authority in October.”

The UK’s crypto advertising rules, regulated by the FCA, came into effect on Oct. 8, 2023 — causing complications for some crypto firms. The new rules, which include a cooling-off period for first-time investors, were rolled out in the hope it would make the marketing of crypto products more transparent and accurate but several firms, including payments giant PayPal, found them challenging, while others turned to third parties for compliance.

In August 2023, Revolut announced it was halting crypto services in the U.S. entirely amid what the company said was a challenging regulatory environment in the country. 

"As a result of the evolving regulatory environment and the uncertainties around the crypto market in the U.S., we've taken the difficult decision, together with our U.S. banking partner [Metropolitan Commercial Bank], to suspend access to cryptocurrencies through Revolut in the U.S.," a Revolut spokesperson told The Block at the time.

The move came a month after Revolut said it was delisting Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) in the U.S. — tokens that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allege are unregistered securities. 

However, the decision did not affect Revolut users outside of the U.S. and impacted less than 1% of its crypto customers globally, they added.