In the coming weeks, PayPal account holders in the US will be able to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin, within the PayPal digital wallet.
PayPal will also expand the features to its P2P payment platform Venmo and select international markets in the first half of 2021 through a partnership with Paxos Trust Company, a regulated provider of cryptocurrency services.
In addition, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) granted PayPal a first-of-its-kind conditional ‘Bitlicense,’ a business licence that enables the company to conduct virtual currency activities.
To mark the launch, PayPal will not charge any service fees for buying or selling cryptocurrency or for holding cryptocurrency in a PayPal account until 31 December 2020.
PayPal said it wants ‘to increase consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency’ and will also provide account holders with educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
“The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly,” says Dan Schulman, president and CEO at PayPal.
“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.”
Read more: https://thefintechtimes.com/paypal-gets-into-bitcoin-but-draws-mixed-response/
