Crypto Trading Drives Revolut Past £1bn In Profit

Revolut, the London-based financial technology firm, saw its profits soar past £1bn in 2024, more than doubling its earnings from the year before. The surge came amid a rise in customer numbers and a renewed boom in cryptocurrency trading.

The company’s annual report, released Thursday, showed pre-tax profits rising from £438mn in 2023 to just over £1bn. Revenues climbed to £3.1bn, up from £1.8bn the previous year.

Much of the growth came from Revolut’s expanding user base. It added nearly 15 million new customers in 2024, pushing total users past the 50 million mark. This uplift drove increases in both card payment fees and interest earned on deposits — the fintech’s two main income streams.

Chief executive and co-founder Nik Storonsky called 2024 a “landmark year”, highlighting the company’s progress in securing a UK banking licence and reaching a $45bn valuation. He added, “But we’re just getting started,” setting out a goal of reaching 100 million daily users across 100 countries.

A rebound in digital asset trading also played a key role. Revenues from Revolut’s wealth unit — which includes crypto and stock trading — hit £506mn, almost four times higher than in 2023. This same division had helped push Revolut to its first full-year profit back in 2021, during an earlier crypto surge. The following year saw a dip, but 2024 marked a strong return.

Despite Revolut’s success in attracting users, the firm still faces challenges convincing them to treat its app as a main bank account. Building up customer deposits is key to unlocking further lending capacity and posing a credible threat to larger retail banks.

Over the course of the year, total customer balances rose from £18bn to £30bn. The firm’s lending book — including credit cards and buy-now-pay-later products — stood at £979mn. Its long-awaited UK banking licence, secured in July after a three-year wait, will now allow it to roll out loan products domestically. Mortgages are currently being trialled internally.

Revolut is also focusing on growing its pool of paying users. Income from premium subscriptions, which include added perks, rose 74 per cent to £423mn. Its business banking service is gaining ground too, now making up around 15 per cent of total revenue.

The company remains Europe’s most valuable start-up, but its next stage will depend on how well it can convert popularity into deeper financial relationships — and how it handles increased scrutiny as a licensed bank.