Revolut, the popular digital banking app with over 10 million users in the UK, recently faced scrutiny after a user reported losing a significant amount of cryptocurrency during a transaction. The event exposes potential shortcomings in Revolut’s guidance to users regarding making deposits in cryptocurrency. It demonstrates how their technology would impact the vast majority of transactions today.
Tzoni Raykov, the first affected user to deposit USDC coins into his Revolut account. As his story demonstrates, there are multiple pitfalls where people can lose their hard-earned money. Even though he was acting in accordance with what he thought were the proper procedures, the deal went belly up. Revolut’s consumer help pointed out the issue was due to the specific type of Polygon network use for the deposit. To do this, they changed his tokens into unsupported formats.
Revolut reached out directly to Raykov and explained that they do not control USDC.e coins. They added that their technology isn’t compatible with these kinds of tokens. Whether by design or carelessness, this lack of clarity about which cryptocurrencies are supported creates a bigger issue about how Revolut markets its deposit instructions. Their company policy strictly designates the Polygon network as the USDC deposit network. They fail to clarify the distinctions between standard and bridged options in that network.
You really need to do your own research.” — Mykhailo Tiutin, crypto expert Along with making sure you understand the technical aspects. He added, “The successes and the losses are ultimately at your own risk.”
Revolut has furthered the entire conversation around banking. Last year, it became the first British bank to be awarded a provisional specialist banking license, allowing it to operate as a fully-fledged UK bank. Revolut has garnered attention for making banking deposits, cryptocurrency trading, stocks and commodities trading as well as money transfers convenient. Yet this event has put that reputation in jeopardy.
Raykov’s experience with Revolut has only exacerbated his frustration and sense of helplessness. “When they treat you like this, it makes you feel like you can’t do anything,” he expressed. He argues that for a company as huge and well-known as Revolut, what they are doing to him is indefensible.
Revolut’s customer support team has really been responsive to this, too. They admit that the app as it stands today does say “Polygon” but doesn’t differentiate between standard polygon and bridged. ATC acknowledged Raykov’s worries and hopes to make improvements in future updates.
“Whatever the company’s reasoning, Raykov is still clearly intent on getting his lost money back. “They are waiting for me to get bored and give up, to accept the money is gone. But I won’t,” he stated.
Revolut doubles down by declaring that recovering unbacked assets is outside their control. Or, alternatively, they encounter huge logistical hurdles in coordinating with each and every potential token and blockchain. Despite its IPO plans, the company refuses to take responsibility, claiming it is the duty of users to realize the risks involved with cryptocurrency transactions.
Cryptocurrency is all the rage these days. Case studies like Raykov’s are a good reminder of the challenges involved with maintaining digital assets. As users continue to deal with these challenges, it’s important for them to be aware of the technological shortcomings of the platforms they use.
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