British cryptocurrency investors who attempt to cash out and collect their profits in pounds are facing a number of hurdles, such as high fees for international money transfers and suspicion from financial institutions.

The sale of cryptocurrencies is usually completed using a coin exchange platform. However, no exchange currently has an agreement with UK banks. This means that users who wish to cash out must do so using USD or Euro before transferring the money to their UK bank account using an international money transfer. These money transfers can attract large fees. A number of UK banks have stated that they do not accept money directly from exchanges because bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not fit their risk profiles.

Banks are also wary of the fact that because of the anonymity associated with cryptocurrencies, they may not comply with anti-money laundering regulations. Some customers are reporting that they have been contacted by their bank once money cashed out from sales on coin exchanges has been deposited into their account, and asked to confirm where the money had come from.

In response to these problems, services such as Bittylicious, which holds money in escrow and then matches buyers and sellers with UK bank accounts, have been developed, which allows trading to take place on a peer-to-peer network.