365Crypto
In 2020, PayPal made waves by allowing individual customers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies directly from their PayPal and Venmo accounts. Now, PayPal has expanded this feature to include business accounts as well. This move might transform Paypal to the biggest Crypto exchange, only time will tell.
In a recent announcement on September 25th, PayPal revealed that U.S. businesses, excluding those in New York, can now buy, sell, and trade crypto directly from their PayPal accounts. This marks a significant shift, enabling business owners to engage with digital currencies more seamlessly.
José Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies, expressed the company’s excitement:
“Business owners have been asking for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers. We’re thrilled to offer this new service, allowing them to interact with digital currencies effortlessly.”
In addition to buying and selling crypto, merchants will be able to withdraw their digital assets to external wallets or cold storage for added security.
PayPal’s Stablecoin Move
In August 2023, PayPal introduced its own stablecoin called PYUSD, pegged to the U.S. dollar. The PYUSD stablecoin is issued by Paxos and is fully backed by U.S. dollar reserves and short-term cash equivalents, ensuring that each PYUSD can be redeemed 1:1 for U.S. dollars.
PayPal later expanded the use of PYUSD to the Solana blockchain, citing Solana’s lower transaction fees compared to Ethereum. Solana’s fees, which can be as low as $0.0025 per transaction, make it an ideal choice for small purchases like coffee or lunch. By comparison, Ethereum transaction fees can soar, especially during busy times.
PayPal also introduced a feature called “confidential transactions” for PYUSD on Solana. This feature hides the payment amount from the public while still keeping the transaction visible for compliance reasons.
Despite PYUSD’s growth to a $1 billion market cap, it remains far behind Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC stablecoins. As of August 2024, Tether held a market cap of $118 billion, with Circle following at $35 billion.
