In recent months, we have reported that payment giant PayPal will begin offering cryptocurrency trading services in the coming months.
Preparations have ended and PayPal is now ready to offer these services to its users.
The payments giant announced in the coming weeks that it will allow its customers to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies using PayPal wallets, starting in the US, Reuters reported today.
According to the news, the company will expand its service to Venmo and more countries in the first half of 2021.
PayPal will not only offer cryptocurrency trading and retention services. The company also reported that as of early 2021, its customers will be able to use cryptocurrencies for purchases with 26 million sellers on its network.
PayPal will provide this service under a conditional license provided by The New York Financial Services Department (NYDFS). In recent months, it has been written that PayPal will launch its cryptocurrency feature in collaboration with Paxos. This has also been confirmed. Paxos will address the legal, technological, and liquidity aspects of PayPal services.
Why is PayPal’s support for cryptocurrency important?
Currently, many major fintech companies, from mobile payment app Square to Robinhood, allow their users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The importance of PayPal can be better understood given its broad user base.
The California-based company has 346 million active users worldwide. The company made $222 billion in payments in the second quarter. The current number of crypto users is expressed with a maximum of 30-40 million coins. Given that PayPal appeals to an audience 10 times larger than this, it can be considered that there may be a significant transition to cryptocurrencies.
BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC will be offered in the first place
PayPal will initially offer trading services for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.
The development of PayPal has brought more mobility to the price of Bitcoin. The leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose to $ 12,400 after the news. The price is $12,315 as of 15.15 TSI.
