2024-09-26
September 25, 2024 - San Jose, CA — PayPal
Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) has announced that U.S. merchants can now buy,
hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal business accounts.
This marks a significant expansion of
PayPal’s cryptocurrency offerings, with millions of merchants across the U.S.
gaining access to these new functionalities. However, this service will not be
available to businesses operating in New York State at launch.
The move follows growing demand from
business owners for cryptocurrency services similar to those already offered to
PayPal and Venmo consumers.
“We have learned a lot about how consumers
want to use cryptocurrency,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s Senior Vice
President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies. “Business
owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same capabilities, and
we’re excited to meet that demand by delivering this new offering.”
In addition to buying, holding, and
selling cryptocurrency, U.S. business account holders can now transfer
supported cryptocurrencies externally to eligible third-party wallets.
This feature allows for seamless
transactions between PayPal’s platform and external blockchain addresses,
giving business users more flexibility in how they manage digital assets.
PayPal has steadily increased its
cryptocurrency integration since 2020, when it first allowed consumers to buy,
hold, and sell digital currencies on its platform.
In 2023, the company introduced PayPal
USD (PYUSD), a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin. Earlier this year, PYUSD was
integrated into PayPal’s Xoom platform, allowing users to send money abroad
with zero transaction fees when using the stablecoin.
PYUSD was also recently made available
on the Solana blockchain, offering users multiple blockchain options for added
control and flexibility. It currently supports Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
PayPal USD is issued by Paxos Trust
Company, fully backed by U.S. dollar reserves, and can be exchanged at a 1:1
ratio to USD via PayPal and Venmo.
