Revolut customers turn to crypto trading under lockdown

Revolut has today revealed that its customers have been jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon under lockdown.

Figures released from the fintech show that after an initial decline in crypto trading, in both the week before and the week after the lockdown was first announced, its users have begun trading cryptocurrency en masse.

After the dust settled, the number of users buying cryptocurrencies rose 68 per cent from 20 April to 4 May 2020, with the average amount purchased increasing by 57 per cent and the amount bought per trade increased 63 per cent.

In the same period, the number of users selling crypto increased by 38 per cent, the average amount sold rose by 36 per cent and the amount sold per trade jumped 13 per cent.

Revolut puts this trend down to “the possibility of a ‘return to normal’ looking more likely” and says the initial dip was due to “uncertainty particularly around finances.”

According to the data, Revolut’s UK customers also trade at “considerably higher volumes” compared to their European neighbours.

In a two month period, from 16 March to 18 May 2020, users in the UK bought an average of £399 per week of cryptocurrency, whereas their European counterparts bought 30 per cent less, £280 per week.

Throughout the current period of lockdown in the UK, the average crypto transaction was £231 compared to just £168, a 27 per cent drop, across Europe.

This jump could also be down to Revolut opening up crypto trading for its regular users, not just its paying members, although this initiative ended in May.

Non-fee paying customers now incur a 1.5 per cent fee—a charge much higher than that of Premium and Metal users who currently only incur a 0.25 per cent flat fee per trade.

Back in March, Revolut also announced that its Metal and Premium customers would be able to buy gold through the app, something that its regular users could only access up until the end of April.