PayPal to launch cryptocurrency service for customers

PayPal Holdings Inc will launch a new service allowing its customers to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly from PayPal digital wallet, according to a press release on Wednesday.

PayPal will enable its customers to use cryptocurrencies as a funding source while making purchases at the 26 million merchants on its network across the world.

Consumers will be able to instantly convert their selected cryptocurrency balance to fiat currency.

Through the new service, PayPal seeks to keep pace with the increasing digital payments, namely amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the growing interest in digital currencies from central banks and consumers.

The service will be available to PayPal account holders in the US in the coming weeks and will be expanded to Venmo and some international markets in the first half (H1) of 2021.  %

To launch the service in the US, the platform has partnered with Paxos Trust Company, a provider of cryptocurrency products and services.

In addition, PayPal has received a first-of-its-kind conditional Bitlicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

The President and CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman, said: “Our global reach, digital payments expertise, two-sided network, and rigorous security and compliance controls provide us with the opportunity, and the responsibility, to help facilitate the understanding, redemption, and interoperability of these new instruments of exchange.”

Meanwhile, the Superintendent at NYDFS, Linda A. Lacewell, referred: “NYDFS’ approval today follows our June 2020 announcement for a new framework for a conditional Bitlicense to encourage, promote, and assist interested institutions to have a well-regulated way to access the New York virtual currency marketplace.”