Like many other financial companies, PayPal has been researching cryptocurrency as a means of payment. After all, PayPal is a disruptor and one of the first Fintech companies that changed the payments landscape with PayPal crypto payment services.

The history of PayPal cryptocurrency support

On October 21st, 2020, PayPal launched a new service enabling customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency through PayPal crypto payment services. They started with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin connected directly with PayPal’s digital wallet.

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The service available at the start for US residents expanded to Checkout with Crypto, which allows checkout using cryptocurrency at thousands of online businesses that support the platform. In 2021, PayPal expanded its crypto services to the UK and started the plan for more expansion globally.

Changing the PayPal payment methods

In most cases, PayPal as a payment method charges your connected card, or you can use funds from your account. However, with the addition of crypto services, the outlook of financial transactions could change.

Who are the users of PayPal services in the business world? For example, artists and websites can receive donations or sell products online via the platform. Even online fashion shops and other e-commerce companies often accept PayPal payments. And also the iGaming market accepts PayPal among their payment methods; certainly, a PayPal casino in Canada is not hard to find. Gamers and other users appreciate how convenient the use of PayPal as a payment method is – one reason being, that so many platforms accept it.

So it will be interesting to see how the shift towards crypto will change the partnerships.

Blockchain technology underneath the digital coins is incredibly secure. Still, cryptocurrency value is highly volatile, and it is one of the main reasons behind slow adoption as a mainstream payment method.

Issuing a PayPal coin?

After a huge push to integrate cryptocurrency into the PayPal ecosystem, one leak from the company iPhone app recently revealed that the company is looking to launch its own digital coin.

PayPal Coin would be a stablecoin, or cryptocurrency backed by the value of the existing currency, probably in this case the American dollar. The company issued several statements after the internal info became public. First, they said information on their stable coin originated from the internal hackathon.

Product logos, names, and marketing approaches may change before launch, but PayPal is clearly pursuing digital currencies based on blockchain. As a financial first mover, PayPal recognized how cryptocurrencies have changed the economic landscape. People use crypto as both money for payments and as an asset.

You only need one dollar to invest in crypto through PayPal. However, for now, you can hold cryptocurrency in a PayPal account only if you acquired it through their platform. There’s no way to import it from other wallets.

Before launching a new digital currency, the company seeks clear answers from regulatory bodies.

Other platforms are also exploring digital coins. Additionally, Visa has created a stablecoin linked to US dollars.