PayPal has revealed that it will now facilitate transactions in Bitcoin. The buying, holding and selling of Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin will also be supported.

DIGITISATION IS EMBRACED

Bitcoin and a handful of other cryptocurrencies have been in circulation for a number of years now. They are part of a broader transition that has seen the financial services arena increasingly embrace digitisation.

Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal said that “the shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access, efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system, and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly.” He added:

PAYPAL’S PLAN TO ROLL OUT TO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

The use of cryptocurrencies will be limited to US account holders, but a rollout to international markets is planned for early 2021.

PayPal has published a selection of educational materials to ensure that anyone interested in the cryptocurrency ecosystem can fully familiarise themselves before taking any unnecessary risks.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES WITHIN THE DIGITAL COMMERCE

The utility of cryptocurrencies within the digital commerce sphere is one of PayPal’s major ambitions. One of the problems facing owners of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies is that it is quite difficult to use them.

This problem does not seem so significant when turning them into another funding source within the PayPal digital wallet.

PayPal has also partnered with various other organisations exploring the crypto ecosystem including Cambridge Blockchain.