Bitcoin Plunges Below $8,000 As Credit Cards Ban Purchases
CBS Local -- Less than two months after Bitcoin's value soared to an all-time high of nearly $20,000, the cryptocurrency has started February with an equally impressive fall. The digital currency fell below $8,000 on the news that more and more financial institutions are refusing to allow Bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin's roller coaster ride in the market has been mostly negative in 2018 as countries and banks crack down on its use and have imposed new regulations on its trading.
"To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs," affiliates for the People's Bank of China said, according to the South China Morning Post.
Banks in the U.S. and Great Britain have also joined the Bitcoin boycott, fearing the digital money's value will continue to drop. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Britain's Lloyds Banking Group have all announced they will ban the purchasing of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency with their credit cards. "Across Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA, we do not accept credit card transactions involving the purchase of cryptocurrencies," Lloyds Banking said in the statement obtained by Fortune.
Cryptocurrency, which gained popularity because of its non-reliance on governments and banks, has also been the target of hackers who have reportedly stolen millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin in recent months. The real name of Bitcoin's founder, who invented the currency under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, is still unknown.