US payment giant PayPal opens encrypted digital currency trading and will support 26 million merchants shopping in 2021
On the evening of October 21st, Reuters stated that payment giant PayPal joined the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, allowing customers to use the company’s online wallet to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and other cryptocurrencies. The company said in a statement that starting in early 2021, PayPal users will also be able to use cryptocurrency to shop at 26 million merchants on its network.
The article mentioned that PayPal has 346 million active accounts worldwide and processed $222 billion in online payments in the second quarter. This service will work with Paxos Trust Company.
The following is the full text of the Reuters report:
PayPal Holdings Inc joined the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, allowing customers to use the online wallets of US digital payment companies to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin and other virtual digital currencies.
The company said in a statement that starting in early 2021, PayPal users will also be able to use cryptocurrency to shop at 26 million merchants on its network.
PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman (Dan Schulman) said in an interview that PayPal hopes that the service will encourage the use of virtual digital currencies on a global scale, and is a new model developed by central banks and enterprises. Digital currency preparation network.
He said: “We are working with the central bank to consider various forms of digital currency and how PayPal can work.”
The company stated that in the coming weeks, U.S. account holders will be able to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency in its PayPal wallet. It plans to expand to Venmo and some countries in the first half of 2021.
Other mainstream financial technology companies, such as mobile payment provider Square and stock trading application company Robinhood Markets Inc, allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. However, given PayPal’s extensive influence, its entry into the encrypted digital currency market deserves attention. The company is located in San Jose, California, has 346 million active accounts worldwide, and processed $222 billion in payments in the second quarter.
Cryptocurrencies tend to be highly volatile, making them attractive to speculators, but much less attractive to merchants and shoppers. Compared with other mainstream payment systems, the transaction speed is slower and the cost is higher.
The company stated that cryptocurrency payments on PayPal will be settled in fiat currencies (such as U.S. dollars), which means merchants will not receive payments in virtual coins.
Many central banks around the world have expressed their intention to develop their central bank digital currency in the next few years, and Facebook led the creation of a cryptocurrency project called Libra. Libra was founded in 2019, but PayPal withdrew after a few months.
PayPal has obtained the first conditional cryptocurrency license from the New York State Department of Financial Services, and it will initially allow the purchase of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, in cooperation with Paxos Trust Company to provide services.
