Argentina Bans Payment Apps From Offering Bitcoin to Customers

Argentina's central bank is clamping down on crypto. In a statement on Thursday, the bank said that payment platforms are now banned from offering digital assets like Bitcoin to customers. 

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) said that the reason was to "mitigate risks."

A number of popular companies—including fintech giant Ualá and online marketplace Mercado Libre—offer clients crypto trading. 

"Payment service providers that offer payment accounts may not carry out or facilitate transactions with digital assets, including cryptoassets, that are not regulated by the competent national authority and authorized by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) to their customers," the Thursday statement said. 

The bank did not expand on why, other than to protect customers, in the announcement. 

It now means that major platforms, including Mercado Libre, Latin America's answer to Amazon, will no longer be able to offer Argentinians Bitcoin buying services. 

(Source: Decrypt)