Britain’s Largest Bank Bans Credit Card Purchases Of Cryptocurrencies

Lloyds Banking Group, the largest bank in the UK, has become the first major credit card provider in the country to ban its customers from using credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies, the Daily Telegraph reported today, Feb. 5.

Their ban follows directly on the heels of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup’s identical decision yesterday to ban credit cards purchases of cryptocurrencies for their customers.

Lloyds, which contain Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and MBNA, will block its 9 million credit card customers from making crypto purchases through an online blacklist that will flag sellers. Lloyd’s customers will still be able to buy cryptocurrencies with their debit cards.

The credit card block was instituted after Bitcoin (BTC) saw a large price drop in the market this week, falling below $8000 for several days in a row. Lloyds has said that this ban will “protect customers” that could accumulate large amounts of credit card debt if the market price keeps falling.

Bitcoin is trading around $7,451 by press time, down about 14 percent over a 24-hour period.

Ban Complete: China Blocks Foreign Crypto Exchanges To Counter ‘Financial Risks’

China will add offshore cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites to its Great Firewall, the South China Morning Post reported Monday, reported Feb. 5, quoting a publication affiliated with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).

Regulators in China reportedly voiced dissatisfaction with current measures restricting trading on domestic exchange sites, coming to a decision to block foreign sites as well to counter “financial risks”.

In January, a fresh crackdown from Beijing saw fringe trading platforms such as P2P and over-the-counter resources banned, adding to a blanket embargo on crypto-to-fiat trading and ICOs in place since September 2017.

At the same time, mixed signals have been given over the status of cryptocurrency mining, while Monday’s website block comes after Cointelegraph reported that ads relating to cryptocurrency had all but disappeared from domestic sites in China.

Now lawmakers say they wish to counter contingency moves from traders who sought to circumventthe trading ban by using foreign platforms.

“To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs,” the South China Morning Post quotes the PBoC-related publication as saying. The quote continues:

“ICOs and virtual currency trading did not completely withdraw from China following the official ban… Overseas transactions and regulatory evasion have resumed… [R]isks are still there, fuelled by illegal issuance, and even fraud and pyramid selling.”

Britain’s Largest Bank Bans Credit Card Purchases Of Cryptocurrencies

Lloyds Banking Group, the largest bank in the UK, has become the first major credit card provider in the country to ban its customers from using credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies, the Daily Telegraph reported today, Feb. 5.

Their ban follows directly on the heels of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup’s identical decision yesterday to ban credit cards purchases of cryptocurrencies for their customers.

Lloyds, which contain Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and MBNA, will block its 9 million credit card customers from making crypto purchases through an online blacklist that will flag sellers. Lloyd’s customers will still be able to buy cryptocurrencies with their debit cards.

The credit card block was instituted after Bitcoin (BTC) saw a large price drop in the market this week, falling below $8000 for several days in a row. Lloyds has said that this ban will “protect customers” that could accumulate large amounts of credit card debt if the market price keeps falling.

Bitcoin is trading around $7,451 by press time, down about 14 percent over a 24-hour period.

Ban Complete: China Blocks Foreign Crypto Exchanges To Counter ‘Financial Risks’

China will add offshore cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites to its Great Firewall, the South China Morning Post reported Monday, reported Feb. 5, quoting a publication affiliated with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).

Regulators in China reportedly voiced dissatisfaction with current measures restricting trading on domestic exchange sites, coming to a decision to block foreign sites as well to counter “financial risks”.

In January, a fresh crackdown from Beijing saw fringe trading platforms such as P2P and over-the-counter resources banned, adding to a blanket embargo on crypto-to-fiat trading and ICOs in place since September 2017.

At the same time, mixed signals have been given over the status of cryptocurrency mining, while Monday’s website block comes after Cointelegraph reported that ads relating to cryptocurrency had all but disappeared from domestic sites in China.

Now lawmakers say they wish to counter contingency moves from traders who sought to circumventthe trading ban by using foreign platforms.

“To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs,” the South China Morning Post quotes the PBoC-related publication as saying. The quote continues:

“ICOs and virtual currency trading did not completely withdraw from China following the official ban… Overseas transactions and regulatory evasion have resumed… [R]isks are still there, fuelled by illegal issuance, and even fraud and pyramid selling.”