Lloyds Banking Group to restrict Bitcoin purchasing

Lloyds Banking Group in the UK has moved to halt its customers from buying Bitcoin on credit cards after a decline in the value of the digital currency.

According to the BBC, the ban comes into effect from today (Monday) and will apply to customers of Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA.

However, customers will still be able buy Bitcoin using their debit cards.

Bitcoin has enjoyed something of a boom in recent times, with its price rising to record levels, but the virtual currency ended last week down 30% to $8,291.87 (€6,661.44), its worst week since April 2013 and much lower than the $19,000 that it reached in November last year.

Speaking about the ban, a Lloyds spokeswoman said: “We continually review our products and procedures and this is part of that.”

The move comes after social media platform Facebook recently announced that it is to block any advertising that promotes cryptocurrency products or services.

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