Global payment service provider PayPal has officially launched its cryptocurrency custody service to all of its users in the United States just over a month since the plans were announced.
In an official press release, PayPal confirmed that users in the US could now buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency through their PayPal account and mobile application.
As per the release the company plans to increase the utility of cryptocurrencies by ‘making it available as a funding source for purchases at its 26 million merchants worldwide’. This particular functionality is only set to go live early next year, while the cryptocurrency trading and wallet service is now live.
Moving quickly
The news of PayPal’s potential crypto custody offering broke in October 2020 and sent shockwaves through the industry given the massive amount of merchants that use PayPal to process their transactions and payments.
At the time it was reported that the cryptocurrency offering onj PayPal would only be launched in 2021, which is why the November 12 announcement has also made waves in the crypto space.
In the release, PayPal CEO and president Dan Schulman noted the increasing rate in which technology is transforming various industries and the hope that the company can help drive cryptocurrency adoption.
“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,” 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. We are eager to work with central banks and regulators around the world to offer our support, and to meaningfully contribute to shaping the role that digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce.”
Driving adoption
The statement also indicates that PayPal wants to increase ‘consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency’ by allowing the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies. The PayPal digital wallet will feature Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash as well as Litecoin as its first tokens that it supports.
PayPal users in the US can officially access these services and cryptocurrencies and there are plans afoot to expand features to Venmo and ‘select international markets in the first half of 2021’.
The company will also provide educational content on the cryptocurrency ecosystem as well as the risks and rewards of investing in the space and other information about blockchain technology.
Users will also not be charged service fees on their cryptocurrency trading until December 2020.
