Status: 23.08.2021 11:32 a.m.
For the first time, the US group PayPal enables the purchase, sale and possession of cryptocurrencies via its payment service in Europe. The new service starts in the UK – which gives Bitcoin a boost.
Starting this week, PayPal plans to enable its customers in the UK to buy, sell and hold digital currencies. You can choose from the four coins Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, as the US payment service announced on Monday. The new service offers users the opportunity to carry out transactions with cryptocurrencies on the PayPal platform they are familiar with.
British PayPal customers should be able to start buying Bitcoin & Co. from as little as one pound. The conversion rates are given in real time on the website. There are transaction and conversion fees when buying or selling. Holding cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, is free.
Are cryptocurrencies becoming part of everyday payment life?
With its move, the payment service provider expects that crypto money will increasingly establish itself in everyday life. “With the entry of a trusted brand like PayPal, access, knowledge and exploration of cryptocurrencies has the potential to become mainstream in the UK,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager, blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at Group.
It is the first time that PayPal is launching this offer outside of its own home market. Trading in cryptocurrencies has been possible in the USA since October 2020. Since March of this year, customers have even been able to pay with it using the function called “Checkout with Crypto”. According to the company, the dealers receive conventional money. The payment service provider takes over the exchange of the cryptocurrencies into dollars. British PayPal customers are not able to pay with Bitcoin for the time being.
“We are determined to continue to work closely with regulators in the UK and around the world to offer our support and make a meaningful contribution to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and trade,” said da Ponte.
PayPal on crypto expansion course
In the UK, the platform, used by more than 403 million people worldwide, competes in crypto trading with the Coinbase platform and startups like Revolut. Back in July, PayPal announced that Great Britain would be the next country in which digital currencies can be purchased via the platform in the future.
PayPal is gradually expanding its crypto expansion. The company recently advertised 100 job advertisements and was looking for experts in cryptocurrencies and the blockchain system. Another clue about the vendor’s policy is the removal of the US annual purchase limit. It is still unclear when the functions will come to Germany.
Bitcoin back over $ 50,000
After PayPal’s announcement, the Bitcoin price rose above the $ 50,000 mark for the first time since May. On Monday, a Bitcoin at the Bitstamp trading center cost $ 50,299 at times, a good two percent more than the day before. Since the interim low in mid-July, the price gains of the very strongly fluctuating crypto money have now totaled around 69 percent.
The decision of the US trading platform Coinbase to increase its own stocks of crypto currencies had also provided additional momentum in the past few days. Bitcoin’s record high of almost $ 64,900 in April is still a long way off. However, according to Coinmarketcap.com, the total value of all cryptocurrencies is now back over two trillion dollars.