Customers at J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup cannot buy cryptocurrencies with credit cards, CNBC reported today, Feb.3.
J.P. Morgan Chase had confirmed to CNBC on Jan. 25 that they were allowing credit card purchases of cryptocurrencies, and Bank of America and Citigroup had said they were reviewing their policies on credit card purchases of crypto.
However, J.P. Morgan Chase’s policy has seen a quick reversal, as a spokesperson from the bank told CNBC today:
"At this time, we are not processing cryptocurrency purchases using credit cards, due to the volatility and risk involved. We will review the issue as the market evolves."
Citigroup also stated today that they were “no longer permit[ing] credit card purchases of cryptocurrency,” and would review their policy as the crypto market develops, while Bank of America is also declining credit card purchases of digital currencies, pending policy reviews.
The recent FUD in the media this week caused Bitcoin (BTC) to drop below $8000 for the first time since November 2017, perhaps scaring the big banks into reviewing their credit card policies.
Last week, when J.P. Morgan Chase was still allowing credit card crypto purchases, Bitcoin’s high in trading was around $11,700, according to CoinMarketCap.
J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who had previously called Bitcoin a “fraud” and threatened to fire any employee that invested in the cryptocurrency, told a Cointelegraph reporter at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Jan. 24 that he’s “not a skeptic” in regards to his previous crypto criticism.
BTC is now trading around $9,180, up 4.45 percent over a 24-hour period by press time.