Nearly two years after opening up its platform to digital currencies, PayPal Holdings Inc. announced on Tuesday that users will be able to send cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin to external wallets.
The service will be available to a restricted group of US users beginning Tuesday and will be rolled out to all qualified US consumers in the coming months, according to the San Jose, California-based firm.
In October 2020, PayPal began allowing clients to purchase, sell, and hold bitcoin, Ethereum, bitcoin cash, and litecoin. Previously, though, users were not permitted to move their crypto assets off the platform.
PayPal claimed that users have been seeking the additional function since the business began allowing users to purchase and sell cryptocurrency. The company’s stock was up 0.3 percent to $87.08.
Since last year, the crypto market has experienced a rise in investor interest, with huge venture capital firms, celebrities, and blue-chip corporations all increasing their crypto holdings.
However, such currencies’ prices have remained unpredictable, reducing their appeal as an inflation hedge.
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 allowed customers to pay for goods and services from millions of online merchants using bitcoin.
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.
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