Argentina’s Central Bank (BCA) imposed USD purchase limits recently and now it announced that citizens are not allowed to use their credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC).
This new measure is included as a set that covers different industries where credit card use was prohibited or limited. When referring to cryptocurrency, the BCA declared:
“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.”
What is shady is that the rules are not clear. It is not very clear if these rules apply just to credit cards or if prepaid cards and debit cards are also covered. Basically, the BCA says that measures are critical and aim to preserve the foreign exchange reserves of the country.
According to numerous industry experts, the BCA tries to block dollars from entering the country. This is done in order to have much stronger control of the exchange process.
Earlier this week, the Central Bank of Argentina limited USD amounts that citizens can buy every single month. The amount was actually reduced from the previous $10,000 to the current $200. As expected, this instantly caused Bitcoin trading spikes. This is why the new ban on BTC purchases appeared.
