Revolut’s financial results for 2025 paint a picture of extraordinary growth, with revenues climbing 46% to £4.5 billion and pre-tax profits jumping 57% to £1.7 billion, yet the company has drawn attention to a mounting reputational concern — its links to the energy-intensive worlds of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. The warning, outlined in the company’s annual report, reflects growing scrutiny of the environmental costs borne by digital finance companies. For Revolut, the disclosure is part of a broader effort to demonstrate responsible governance as it pursues full banking status across multiple jurisdictions.
Revolut was founded a decade ago with a simple proposition: a smarter, cheaper way to manage money abroad. Under Nik Storonsky’s leadership, it has evolved into a global banking platform with operations in 40 countries, banking licences in more than 30 of them, and an ambition to become one of the world’s leading financial institutions. The UK banking licence, granted after a five-year regulatory process, marks the latest and most significant step in that journey.
The numbers behind the 2025 results are striking. The company’s customer base reached 68.3 million after 16 million new users joined during the year, including 13 million in the UK. Business customers grew by one-third to 767,000. One in five working-age adults across Europe now uses the platform, and Revolut aims to reach 100 million customers globally by the middle of next year.
The energy debate is no longer peripheral for financial platforms. Cryptocurrency, especially bitcoin, and AI infrastructure collectively account for a significant and growing share of global electricity consumption. As geopolitical events push energy prices higher, the public and regulatory pressure on businesses associated with these sectors is intensifying. Revolut’s formal acknowledgment that this could harm its brand and reduce demand for its services suggests the risk is being taken seriously at the highest levels of the organisation.
Plans for Revolut’s future include expansion into lending, personal loans, and mortgages, following its Lithuania-based mortgage refinancing pilot. The company’s US banking licence application, submitted this month, underlines its intent to grow beyond its European base. Storonsky has described the current period as a transformative one, suggesting that the company’s most significant achievements are still ahead.