BREAKING: PayPal Now to Accept Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrency to its 26 million Online Stores, Buying, Selling, and Shopping on its network.
In a groundbreaking development, PayPal Holdings became a stakeholder in the world of cryptocurrency.
On Wednesday, the company announced its decision to allow Paypal customers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, using its digital wallets. This step will enable the customers of Paypal to use cryptocurrencies to shop at more than 26 million merchant outlets currently active on Paypal’s network.
According to PayPal, there are two basic objectives behind this move. The first is to prepare its network for the upcoming digital currencies that central banks and corporations are planning to launch in the days to come. The second objective is to encourage the use of virtual coins across the world.
The United States Market is First in Line
The U.S. customers will start getting this benefit within the next few weeks. The company is also planning to expand the services of its peer-to-peer cash transfer system Venmo. By the first half of 2021, many new countries will be added to PayPal’s crypto-services network.
Several mobile payments companies and stock trading applications like Square and Robinhood have already expanded their service model to include cryptocurrencies. But, none of these players has the reach that PayPal has. PayPal alone occupies 55.48% of the payment processing market. Whereas the next player in the line, Stripe, occupies 18.18%.
A Big Deal!
In terms of the number of customers served, the company has 346 million active accounts globally. In the second quarter of the current financial year, the company processed payments worth US$222 billion worldwide.
Cryptocurrencies are often not considered a favourable mode of exchange because of its volatility. Merchants and shoppers, in particular, find it slower and costlier.
Yet, the adoption of cryptocurrencies has been on a steady rise. This rise has been driven by several Central Banks’ decision to create digital currencies in the recent future. In 2019, PayPal also became a member of Facebook’s crypto project Libra. However, they discontinued their association after the first few months.
The company acquired its first conditional license to deal in cryptocurrency from the New York Department of Financial Services. Partnering with Paxos Trust company, this license will allow PayPal to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, bitcoin cash, and Litecoin. However, the merchants will receive their payments settled in fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars.
