Australian banks do not plan to ban buying Bitcoin

Major banks of Australia do not want to follow in the footsteps of a group of American banks which, as confirmed by the Coinbase exchange, banned operations connected with acquiring Bitcoin with the use of the credit cards issued by those organizations.

ANZ, one of the interviewed Australian banks, tells that cryptocurrency is unregulated and this means they don’t have any authority or necessity to prohibit related operations. National Australia Bank reminded about that not all Bitcoin transactions might be legal, as criminals actively use it, and in such cases these transactions will undoubtedly be monitored at the very least. Westpack, another financial organization based in this region, reminded it does not forbid to operate with Bitcoin, but, according to ABC, refused to comment on the future possible regulations. CBA declined to immediately comment on the matter but did not confirm they consider banning such transactions.

It all started with major American banks - Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citi, and Capital One. Then some banks in the United Kingdom decided to prohibit Bitcoin buyings as well - Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, and MBNA. Almost certainly, Chinese banks are going to impose something similar, as the leadership of China is very skeptical towards the concept of cryptocurrency.