Starting June 7, select US users of PayPal can transfer crypto assets from their accounts to external wallets and exchanges.
Payment giant Paypal now allows users to hold and transfer various cryptocurrencies from within their Paypal crypto wallet. Users can store or transfer bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, and ether (BTC, BCH, LTC, and ETH).
Keep track of breaking news in the crypto wallets space and what it could mean to you
As of 2022, PayPal operates in 202 markets and has 426 million active, registered accounts. The company allows customers to send, receive, and hold funds in 25 currencies worldwide.
Not a stranger to Web3 and crypto
The payment company already dipped a toe into Web3 in 2020 by letting users purchase, sell, and hold crypto. In March 2021, they launched their ‘Checkout with Crypto’ enabling native crypto payments during checkout at millions of online businesses.
While rumors persist about PayPal exploring the launch of its own stablecoin, dubbed the PayPal Coin, the payments giant had already ramped up its push toward embracing the industry.
This was done by acquiring the cryptocurrency security company Curv in March 2021.
Competitors circling PayPal
The move also fits in with competitors ramping up their efforts to bring crypto into the mainstream. Popular online broker Robinhood introduced a similar feature live from the Bitcoin 2022 Conference earlier this year.
Robinhood revealed in April that it had made digital asset transfers possible for 2 million “eligible” customers. The company also said there wouldn’t be a withdrawal fee for those transferring their crypto off its platform.
What does it mean for PayPal users
The new feature will allow PayPal users to transfer supported coins into PayPal, move crypto from its app to external crypto addresses, including exchanges and hardware wallets and send crypto to other PayPal users.
Network fees will be covered by the customers during external transfers. This can vary depending on the blockchain and the crypto asset while internal transfers i.e. PayPal to PayPal, will have no fees.
Forced into evolution
Moreover, PayPal is being forced into evolution as a raft of competitors continually nips at its heels for relevance. Despite being the most well-known online payment facilitator, PayPal is not the most loved one.
Their fee structure and countless bad transaction tales stemming from eBay, where the ethos of ‘the buyer is always right’ causes extreme stress for sellers.
Wallets or websites?
Traditionally, If you wanted to trade, sell, purchase, or collect cryptocurrency, you needed a blockchain wallet such as METAMASK that facilitates asset transfers and connects to decentralized apps. Soon, the 426 million active registered account users on PayPal can start adding cryptocurrencies to their accounts and experiment with transfers and payments.
People are hesitant to leap into new services and PayPal has undoubtedly built a vast user base that it could potentially onboard into crypto. Of course, a global behemoth like PayPal doesn’t do this for fun or to appease customers. The motivations are financial and self-preserving.
If you want to learn more about crypto transactions, wallets, and the latest trends in that space, you can read more:
- What is a cryptocurrency wallet?
- Crypto wallet security and private keys
- Best cryptocurrency wallets
If you’re new to this space, why not join our community on Discord and ask around. There’s a lot of knowledge in the DappRadar community, and knowledge can be shared. But first, read our explanation about cryptocurrency wallets.
