Paypal Launches Business Unit Dedicated To Cryptocurrency

Paypal is launching a new business unit dedicated to cryptocurrency services, the company chief executive officer Daniel Schulman announced this week.

In an earnings call on February 3, 2021, Schulman said the existing financial system is outdated and that his firm will be investing a lot of money into blockchain and digital currencies. Schulman explained:

We all know the current financial system is antiquated, and we can envision a future where transactions are completed in seconds, not days; a future where transactions should be less expensive to complete; and a future that enables all people to be part of the digital economy, not just the affluent. We are significantly investing in our new crypto, blockchain, and digital currencies business unit in order to help shape this more inclusive future.

The new crypto business unit is expected to launch later this quarter. The CEO also revealed that customers will be able to use crypto to pay for goods and services at Paypal’s 29 million merchants worldwide. This service is expected to be rolled out before the end of this quarter.

Schulman said “we hope to launch our first international market in the next several months” and is also expecting to integrate crypto with Venmo later this year. He also stated that “everyone who signed up for crypto is opening up their app two times as much as they previously did.”

Paypal announced in late October that its customers – running in excess of 300 million active users – will now be able to buy, hold and sell bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets using their Paypal accounts. The decision caused BTC prices to rise sharply at the time.

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