PayPal users will soon be able to transfer bitcoin from their accounts to other wallets and exchanges, according to the company.
“Since we started offering crypto purchases on our platform, this function has been the most requested by our users,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s SVP and general manager of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies. PayPal clients will be able to transfer supported coins into PayPal, move crypto from its app to external crypto addresses such as exchanges and hardware wallets, and send crypto to other PayPal users “in seconds” with the new capability.
When customers execute external transactions, they are responsible for network costs, which are determined by the blockchain and vary based on the crypto asset. There are no fees for internal transfers (Paypal to PayPal). “If consumers have crypto elsewhere and wish to consolidate,” Fernandez da Ponte says, “they can move it to PayPal from external addresses.” “They can also transmit cryptocurrency to anyone who uses PayPal.”
In October of 2020, PayPal enabled its users to purchase, sell, and hold cryptocurrency. Then, in late March 2021, PayPal announced the debut of Checkout with Crypto, a tool that let customers to use cryptocurrencies to pay for items at millions of online stores.
PayPal’s current cryptocurrency investments include a partnership with Paxos to power its service that allows clients to buy, sell, and store a variety of cryptocurrencies, as well as the acquisition of bitcoin security startup Curv. Last year at Consensus, Fernandez da Ponte indicated that allowing users to transmit data will be the next step.
Giving PayPal clients the ability to move their crypto assets — such as bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, or litecoin — into, out of, and within the firm was a move that the corporation could not avoid if it wanted to stay ahead of the curve in a fast-changing fintech landscape. Despite recent instability in the cryptocurrency market, Fernandez da Ponte said PayPal is heading in this route “as consumers [still] adopt cryptocurrencies.”
“This action demonstrates that we’re committed to this for the long haul,” Fernandez da Ponte continued. “I believe it is critical to stay the course and invest in the space.” Users in the United States can only utilise the new feature, and PayPal says it has added an additional identification verification process for users before they can send any cryptocurrency. Select U.S. users will be able to do so starting today, and additional “qualified” U.S. customers — those who complete the identity verification process — will be able to do so in the following weeks.
Following permission from the New York Department of Financial Services, PayPal was authorised to offer the new capability after switching from a “conditional” BitLicense to a “full” one.
