PayPal Users Can now Buy, Sell, and Hold Cryptocurrency

Once upon a time, in June 2019, PayPal’s founding and former CEO called bitcoin “a scam.” That same year, PayPal signed on to Facebook’s Libra Association, but then bailed from the project in October.

Turns out PayPal had its own cryptocurrency plans in the works. On Wednesday, the company announced a new service for PayPal users to buy, sell, or hold cryptocurrencies.

• What: bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and litecoin
• Where: directly within the PayPal digital wallet (with a Venmo expansion planned in H1 2021)
• Who: rolling out to U.S. account holders in the next few weeks (international, H1 2021)

PayPal’s ginormous merchant market (26+ million) means that it will soon be much easier to buy goods with crypto. PayPal will settle transactions with fiat currencies, so stores needn’t worry about juggling volatile BTC-USD transfers.

If bitcoin had its own POV: Brick by brick, institution by institution, the OG cryptocurrency is gaining adherents. Also, bitcoin’s price is up 23% in a month.