UK’s Crypto Purge Escalates: Ledger Pages Blocked, Education & Advertising Under Fire
Britain tightens the noose—hardware wallet giant Ledger gets pages blocked as regulators slash crypto access across banking, ads, and even education.
Financial watchdogs flex muscles while retail investors scramble—another case of 'protecting you' from your own money.
The Ledger block is part of a broader regulatory trend in the UK
The Ledger situation is part of a broader regulatory trend, as the UK implements a suite of new rules designed to tightly govern crypto communications, restrict unapproved financial promotions, and regulate access to certain investment products.
The intention, according to official statements, is increased consumer protection. But critics argue it puts practical blockchain education and security at arm’s length for UK retail users.
Further reflecting this tightening regulatory environment, a recent Coinbase advertisement was banned in the UK for allegedly making misleading claims and criticizing local economic conditions. The ad was ultimately distributed via online channels after being pulled from television and billboards.
Major banks, particularly NatWest, also continue to restrict crypto transactions for UK residents, refusing business clients who accept Bitcoin and capping deposits for retail customers. Many UK banking apps now warn users against crypto spending or block outbound payments to exchanges, a trend seen as stifling access to digital assets for everyday investors.
Reduced privacy, increased surveillance
Beyond the blocking of certain Ledger pages, the UK’s digital ID scheme, announced in September 2025, will make digital identification mandatory for work eligibility and accessing public services, with government assurances of strong encryption and personal privacy.
Civil liberties groups, however, warn that such systems, especially given their expansion into real-time database checks, pose major risks of surveillance, exclusion, and data breaches, with fears that vulnerable populations could be further marginalized.
The scheme puts Britain squarely into a global trend, as Europe advances a digital euro for retail settlements and discusses programmable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This initiative has drawn parallel concerns about anonymity and data use.
Globally, the crackdown on privacy-centric crypto projects has intensified as well. The recent sentencing of Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez in the U.S. highlights how privacy-enhancing technologies are being policed and increasingly equated with criminal activity by regulators.
As UK regulators impose heavier controls across banking, advertising, and personal identification, the partial Ledger website blockade could be just one of many more such issues to come.
