Multinational financial technology company, PayPal announced yesterday that crypto users can now move funds off its platform, a long-awaited feature that will make the company’s offering more like other popular cryptocurrency services.
“Starting today, PayPal supports the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges,” the financial giant said in a press statement.
The announcement comes after a comment made by the PayPal Vice President at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on May 23, 2022. Richard Nash, speaking at the World Economic Forum, noted that the corporation is working hard to integrate all available digital services, including digital currencies and CBDC.
The feature will allow users to transfer and receive crypto using the app. It was rolled out to American users first and was made accessible to them yesterday.
PayPal’s cryptocurrency offering was originally launched in late 2020, allowing customers to purchase, sell, and hold four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. However, funds could not be moved to external digital wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase, or any other hardware wallets.
The fact that users can now do this is significant because PayPal, which also owns the famous app Venmo, is used by millions of people across the world to move money and is increasingly used as a payment platform.
It’s also worth noting that, despite a financial downturn that has seen PayPal’s stock price plummet in recent months, the corporation is maintaining its ambitious crypto objectives.
A PayPal executive stated in an interview that the company is taking a long-term approach to pursuing a crypto strategy.
“The whole reason we’re in crypto is because we believe a substantial portion of commerce is going to move to digital currencies,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, the company’s SVP of Blockchain and Crypto.
Fernandez da Ponte added that the company doesn’t charge for crypto transactions because its crypto plans revolve around commerce, not operating as an exchange business. He also noted that PayPal is bullish on more countries embracing stablecoins and CBDCs, a development that would favor the company’s business model.
At the moment, it’s unclear how much crypto is helping PayPal’s bottom line, especially since the business doesn’t say how many individuals use its Bitcoin and Ethereum services. With the recent market collapse, the amount of crypto transactions on PayPal is likely to have declined significantly, if Coinbase and Robinhood are used as comparisons.
Fernandez da Ponte added that he’s unfazed.
“There’s a lot of discussion about crypto winter, but it’s important to see beyond that. The macro trend of broad crypto adoption is undisturbed,” he said.