Lloyds Banking Group has banned its customers from buying cryptocurrencies on its credit cards.
Eight million credit card customers of Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA will be unable to purchase Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies from today.
However its debit card customers will still be able to do so.
Bitcoin fell in value to $8,291.87 last week, a drop of 30 per cent over the week. It reached of high of $19,000 last November.
Lloyds is worried that its customers could be unable to repay debts, should the share price continue to fall.
A Lloyds spokeswoman said: “We continually review our products and procedures and this is part of that.”
The drop in the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies came after Indian politician Arun Jaitley, the country’s finance minister, said it wanted to eradicate payments made in virtual coins.
“The Government does not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system,” he said.
“The Government will explore use of block chain technology proactively for ushering in digital economy.”