Firstly they have to be charged VAT to reclaim it, you can't just claim money back from HMRC that was never paid to HMRC in the first place. Assuming you found

Firstly they have to be charged VAT to reclaim it, you can't just claim money back from HMRC that was never paid to HMRC in the first place. Assuming you found a company selling Bitcoins and charged VAT you'd pay £1.20 but claim 20p back from HMRC therefore the total cost would be £1. Then same same calculation that is in the post you replied to applies. The customer would end up having to pay £1.26 of which ~21p would be payable to HMRC, leaving you with ~6p profit. But who is going to pay £1.26 for bitcoins when you can buy them for £1.05 elsewhere? If the UK based company sold them for £1.05 they'd be losing money every time they sold them due to the VAT they'd owe to HMRC.