Revolut’s Crypto Bet Pays Off—$1B+ Profit Shows Digital Assets Are Eating Finance

Fintech disruptor Revolut just posted its first billion-dollar profit—and crypto trading drove the surge. The London-based neobank saw digital asset transactions spike 300% YoY as retail investors FOMO’d into Bitcoin’s latest rally.

Crypto: The new cash cow

While legacy banks still treat crypto like a compliance headache, Revolut’s one-click trading platform turned volatility into revenue. Commission from Bitcoin and altcoin trades now accounts for 40% of total profits—up from just 12% in 2023.

Regulators hate this one trick

The FSA-approved app skirts traditional brokerage hurdles by offering ’not your keys, not your coins’ convenience. Critics warn it’s creating a generation of leveraged gamblers... but hey, those 0.5% FX fees weren’t going to moon themselves.

As Wall Street scrambles to launch Bitcoin ETFs, this profit report proves the real money isn’t in holding digital assets—it’s in selling shovels to the retail gold rush.

Record results driven by crypto and wealth management

Revolut owes a significant part of its success to the booming digital asset business. The wealth management division, which includes stock trading and particularly cryptocurrencies, generated around £506 million in revenue in 2024 – nearly four times as much as the previous year. This division helped Revolut achieve its first annual profit in 2021 when retail investors sought to secure a share of the crypto boom. However, in the following year, the company’s crypto-related revenues declined.

At the same time, Revolut’s customer base grew to over 50 million users worldwide, further demonstrating the increasing acceptance of fintech offerings in everyday life. Strong demand for crypto investments during the market recovery played a major role in this growth. Revolut thus established itself as one of the leading providers in the digital financial services sector.

Banking license paves way for expansion into lending

Another milestone for Revolut was obtaining a UK banking license after a three-year review process. This will allow the company to offer traditional banking products such as mortgages and consumer loans in the future.

Currently, Revolut’s loan portfolio still represents a relatively small part of the business, with outstanding loans totaling around £979 million. Nevertheless, the license signals a clear ambition to compete with established major banks over the long term and to broaden its revenue base.

The next step: Revolut plans global expansion and aims to reach 100 million daily active users. The company’s goal is to evolve from a pure payments provider into a fully-fledged international universal bank.