The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced a partnership with ClearBank aimed at offering new services to UK residents. The partnership with ClearBank comes after the end of the relationship between Coinbase and Barclays.
The historic partnership between Coinbase and Barclays has thus come to an end, resulting in a major setback for the exchange. Barclays Bank is an international British bank with operations in over fifty countries and a staff of around 129,400 employees. The bank allowed Coinbase to use the UK Faster Payments Service (FPS) allowing users to make instant deposits and withdrawals. The service significantly accelerated the purchase of digital coins with pounds sterling.
As confirmed by Coinbase on the official blog, the inability to use the FPS has caused enormous delays in the processing of deposits and withdrawals in recent weeks. As an apology, the exchange has lowered the fees for the users affected.
The reason for the termination of the relationship with Barclays has not been revealed but it seems clear that it was Barclays that wanted to end the partnership with Coinbase, which found itself disoriented and forced to deal with the issue.
Coinbase, partnership with ClearBank
Banks have always been reluctant in offering services to companies that operate in the cryptocurrency sector for various reasons. Bureaucratic matters are not helpful and the lack of regulation and clear legislation complicates things even further.
The situation should now be in the process of being resolved thanks to the new partnership with ClearBank which is expected to allow Coinbase to use the FPS system in the near future.
ClearBank and the delisting of ZCash
The new partnership has its pros and cons, too. At the beginning of the week, Coinbase decided to delist ZCash (ZEC), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. This decision stems from a specific request from the bank, who does not like ZCash and the privacy features offered by this cryptocurrency.
Coinbase is not the only one working with ClearBank. The BCB Group is also working with the bank to get the BitStamp exchange to join the Faster Payments Service (FPS). Even Coinfloor, the UK’s long-standing exchange, is trying to join the FPS system.
As for Barclays, they will continue to collaborate with the wallet provider Blockchain.info, which is working on launching its own exchange.
