Bitcoin lending platform BTCJam is no longer taking new US customers, citing uncertainty around regulation in the country.
According to BTCJam founder and CEO Celso Pitta, the platform will no longer allow for the creation of new accounts from the US.
While existing users can still access their accounts, receive or make payments on loans and process withdrawals, affected account holders won’t be able to issue new loans.
Pitta said that the move was driven by regulatory issues in the US, echoing a message posted to the BTCJam website and circulated on social media earlier today that described the decision to restrict new US accounts as “difficult”.
He told CoinDesk:
“Our mission has always been to provide access to credit in developing countries. We decided to focus solely on that mission until there is more clarity around bitcoin regulation in the US.”
The move to start pulling back from servicing US customers is reminiscent of decisions made by some bitcoin exchanges in the wake of the passage of the BitLicense, the licensure framework put in place by New York financial regulators last year.
At the time, a number of bitcoin firms publicly denounced the BitLicense and declared their intention to stop serving New York customers.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in BTCJam.
Stop signs via Shutterstock