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U.S. online payment giant PayPal announced on Monday, August 23, that it will allow its users in the United Kingdom to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies on the payment platform for the first time. Its customers will be able to choose from four types of cryptocurrency: bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash.
A new tab will be added to the PayPal platform, displaying real-time currency prices and including information about cryptocurrencies, PayPal said. Through their account, PayPal says users can view real-time cryptocurrency prices, access information about cryptocurrencies, as well as learn about opportunities and risks in the field.
The new service will begin rolling out this week and will be available on both the PayPal app and website. The online payment giant said it hopes it will help improve understanding of how cryptocurrencies work.
This is the first time PayPal has rolled out this type of service outside of the U.S., where it also allows purchases to be made from a range of partner companies. As in the U.S., PayPal is relying on a partnership with Paxos Trust Company to enable the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies in the UK.
This is the first time PayPal has rolled out this type of service outside of the U.S., where it also allows purchases from a set of partner companies. As in the U.S., PayPal is relying on a partnership with Paxos Trust Company to enable the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies in the UK.
“The pandemic has accelerated digital change and innovation across all aspects of our lives— including the digitisation of money and greater consumer adoption of digital financial services,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Vice President and General Manager, Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPal. “Our global reach, digital payments expertise, and knowledge of consumer and businesses, combined with rigorous security and compliance controls provides us the unique opportunity, and the responsibility, to help people in the UK to explore cryptocurrency. We are committed to continuing working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support—and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce.”
A relationship with Paxos Trust Company has allowed the company’s cryptocurrency service. TRM Labs, a leading cryptocurrency risk management software provider; TaxBit, a provider of crypto tax software to customers and exchanges; and Talos, an institutional-grade infrastructure technology for digital asset trading, are among the blockchain and cryptocurrency-related start-ups that PayPal’s venture capital arm has invested in.