Argentine Central Bank Bans Use of Credit Cards for Bitcoin Purchases

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCA), which recently laid out fresh restrictions on the purchase of US dollars, has barred its citizens from using credit cards to acquire Bitcoin (BTC) or any other cryptocurrencies.

The restrictions were revealed in an announcement covering various business sectors in which use of credit card was banned or limited.

The cryptocurrency related section reads as follows:

“Acquisition of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: It is prohibited to purchase BTC with this payment method. The only remaining alternative for this investment is to do so with funds transferred from a bank account.”

So far, there is no clarity as to whether the stipulations apply only to credit cards or even for debit and other kind of prepaid cards. The BCA has pointed out that such measures are necessary to prevent the nation’s valuable foreign exchange reserves from drying up.

The Central Bank of Argentina primarily aims to halt the inflow of dollars in order to attain better exchange control. A week before, the central bank has issued restrictions on the quantum of US dollars which can be bought by its citizens.

The amount of greenback that can be purchased by individuals was decreased to $200 from $10,000. The news resulted in an increase in Bitcoin trading, which the recent measures seem to address partially.