Chase, a U.K.-based subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, notified customers via email on Tuesday that it will ban U.K. customers from making cryptocurrency-related payments and outgoing wire transfers as of Oct. 16 due to cryptocurrency fraud.

“We have seen an increase in cryptocurrency scams targeting consumers in the UK, so we have made the decision to prohibit the purchase of crypto assets using a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account,” a Chase spokesperson said.

Chase, which launched its app-based service in the UK in 2021, has more than 1.6 million customers. JP Morgan Chase, its parent company, is the largest US bank with total assets of more than $3 trillion.

Earlier in March, British bank NatWest limited its customers’ payments to cryptocurrency exchanges to 1,000 British pounds ($1,214) per day as a safeguard against cryptocurrency theft. NatWest noted in its March press release that its UK customers lost 329 million pounds ($400 million) to cryptocurrency fraud last year.

The UK is making efforts to develop its blockchain and cryptocurrency sector, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been a strong supporter of the industry.

In June, the UK passed the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, a reform bill that allowed the country’s financial authorities to treat cryptocurrencies as a regulated financial instrument. The new cryptocurrency regulations, while providing more clarity, have raised concerns among some cryptocurrency supporters in the UK due to restrictions placed on marketing campaigns.