Since PayPal announced its intention to enter the cryptocurrency market last week, the entire crypto industry has been excited about it. PayPal’s new encryption service is scheduled to be officially launched in early 2021. The service supports encrypted payments and direct in-app purchases of encrypted currencies.
However, on October 28th, Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency payment company Circle, claimed to have used the PayPal app to purchase $100 worth of Bitcoin (BTC), and said in a tweet: “At PayPal I bought 100 US dollars of BTC! A great milestone in the crypto market!-Jeremy Allaire (Jerallaire) October 28, 2020”
Allaire did not specify how he used the service before the official launch, nor did he say whether he had reached a promotional agreement with PayPal to use and promote the upcoming service. As of press time, PayPal has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
As previously reported, PayPal’s encrypted payment function will support Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin. After the transaction is initiated in encrypted currency, it will be settled with PayPal’s affiliated merchants in its local legal currency.
As of the second quarter of 2020, PayPal has more than 346 million active accounts and processed $222 billion in transaction volume. By 2021, its encrypted payment service will be supported by an estimated 26 million global merchants.
