[EpiphanyMachine]

They are not blocking purchasing of these from all accounts, just credit accounts. You can still purchase via ACH and debit. What they are doing is not allowing you to use their money to buy:

>The move doesn’t affect debit cards, according to Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender.

>Allowing purchases of cryptocurrencies can create big headaches for card lenders, which can be left on the hook if a borrower bets wrong and can’t repay. There’s also the risk that thieves will abuse cards that were purloined or based on stolen identities, turning them into crypto hoards. Banks also are required by regulators to monitor customer transactions for signs of money laundering -- which isn’t as easy once dollars are converted into digital coins.

[deevolution]

Not being able to use credit to purchase crypto is a move that protects the banks and the end user... its pretty dangerous trading on barrowed money.

[phil21]

> You can still purchase via ACH and debit.

This isn't strictly true. These same banks have been known to close accounts that are associated with known crypto exchange transactions (coinbase, bitstamp, etc.) - to the point of most recommending you keep these transactions entirely separate and try to avoid them if possible.

I was originally interested in Bitcoin exactly due to this. Money in the bank is not your money, and that was made exceedingly clear to me on a few occasions. That they are corner cases and outliers is irrelevant to me - that's where the system breaks down and you find out exactly how powerless you really are until you're into 8 figure territory.

Basically do anything a bank determines is risky and you more or less forfeit your access to the US banking system.

Large banks actively choose winners and losers and who you can send your money to every single day. Try buying porn on-line with some credit cards for example.

I don't particularly think buying crypto with a credit card is a great idea, but it certainly highlights how much the war on cash and ever increasing centralized banking really has significantly reduced your personal freedom in just a couple decades.

[toomuchtodo]

Exactly! Brokerages and credit card issuers don't permit you buy equities with credit cards either.

[yorby]

what other kind of property can't you buy with credit cards...

[schrodinger]

cash (fiat currency). cash advances are limited in amount, and treated differently in terms of interest.

[yorby]

but cash is a currency... unlike bitcoin (according to the IRS)