SAN FRANCISCO—Adding to the number of countries as well as financial institutions clamping down on cryptocurrencies is transaction processor Stripe, which has decided to stop supporting Bitcoin payments for small businesses on April 23.
Stripe's Tom Karlo noted several issues with processing Bitcoin transactions, noting that confirmation times "have risen substantially," Mobile Payments Today reported.
That, in turn, leads to a high failure in transactions, because price fluctuations in Bitcoin's price means that purchases are made for what's essentially the wrong amount, Mobile Payments Today explained.
“And, too, the cost to process a Bitcoin transaction has risen from just pennies to as much as $35 to $40,” Mobile Payments Today noted.
As CUToday.info reported, the price of the cryptocurrency declined by about 30% during January, which would be its worst monthly drop in three years. Research site Coindesk noted that while several factors have been driving the decline, the regulatory clampdown occurring around the world is an important reason the broader cryptocurrency market has fallen on tougher times.
Last week, the SEC stopped a $600-million initial coin offering, while the federal government brought charges in three cases involving virtual currencies. In addition, Facebook announced it would stop all ads on its platform that promote cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings.
As CUToday.info has reported, governments around the world, including China and South Korea, have taken steps to limit bitcoin mining operations, and have also announced additional regulatory scrutiny.