In one of the most closely watched fintech disclosures of 2025, Revolut has reported a 57% rise in annual profits to £1.7 billion while simultaneously issuing a warning that its support for energy-hungry sectors — particularly cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence — could backfire reputationally. The company’s annual report frames the concern around “shifting attitudes” to the carbon footprint of high-profile digital activities. The admission underscores a growing tension at the heart of modern financial technology: the services that drive growth may increasingly conflict with environmental values.
Revolut has spent a decade building its platform under the direction of founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky. The company now operates across 40 markets, holds banking licences in more than 30 of them, and recently secured the UK banking licence it had pursued for five years. With a valuation of $75 billion and ambitions stretching into the United States, Revolut is firmly established as one of the most consequential companies in global financial services.
The headline financial figures for 2025 were broadly strong. Revenue reached £4.5 billion, a 46% increase year-on-year, while customer numbers grew by 16 million to reach 68.3 million globally. UK customers numbered 13 million, and business accounts grew by a third to reach 767,000. The company has set a target of 100 million customers worldwide by mid-next year, having already reached one in five working-age European adults.
The environmental dimension of Revolut’s risk disclosure reflects a broader reality within the technology sector. Both cryptocurrency mining and AI data centre operations require immense and growing amounts of energy. Geopolitical tensions have pushed energy costs higher in recent months, compounding the pressure on companies associated with these industries. For Revolut, which offers crypto trading and is building out AI capabilities, the risk is not merely theoretical — it may have direct consequences for brand loyalty, regulatory relationships, and investor sentiment.
As Revolut looks to the future, its priorities include deepening its retail and business banking capabilities, expanding into home lending, and establishing itself in the US market. Mortgage refinancing services were launched in Lithuania last year, and a US banking licence application was filed this month. Storonsky’s framing of 2025 as a beginning rather than a culmination suggests that Revolut’s most ambitious chapter is still being written.