PayPal announcement today that its U.S residents can buy cryptocurrencies directly within the payment platform sends a big signal to the crypto world about the acceleration of adoption of the digital coin.
The latest announcement gives PayPal customers who are US-based to buy, hold and sell only four cryptocurrencies at the moment, the firm says more cryptos would be onboarded in the incoming days.
In a tweet, it said:
“Today, we are announcing the launch of a new service that will enable customers to buy, hold and sell #Cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal account.”
Which cryptocurrencies can I buy with PayPal
The option at the time of announcement supported four Cryptos, they are:
- Bitcoin
- BitcoinCash
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
“The service will be available to PayPal account holders in the U.S. in the coming weeks and initially feature #Bitcoin, #Ethereum, #BitcoinCash and #Litecoin directly within the PayPal digital wallet,”
It said in a tweet which has generated mixed reactions from its customers in the United States.
It said its customers within the U.S. would be alerted to the new feature through both an email and a push notification in the coming days.
PayPal has always shown interest in cryptocurrency
The company has always shown interest in blockchain and its products, it only made its intention known in October 2020 when it officially announced that it’d introduce options for cryptocurrency buying and selling.
The option to buy bitcoin with PayPal works ceaselessly through one of its biggest partners Paxos Crypto Brokerage.
It should be noted that the feature was already partially available in the U.S. before the official unveiling of the buy and sell option, it had been onboarding interested customers via a waitlist. With this announcement, users will no longer have to wait for a spot to open.
Cryptos spend limit with PayPal
It’s initial Cryptos purchase limit was $10,000 per week, due to demand from its customers, PayPal raised the limit to $20,000 per weel
Crypto Charges on PayPal
In terms of exchange rates, check below for the rate:
- $0.50 USD on transactions up to $24.99 USD,
- 2.3% on transactions from $25 to $100 USD;
- 2% on transactions from $100.01 to $200 USD;
- $1.8% on transactions of $200.01 to $1,000 USD;
- 1.5% on transactions over $1,000 USD.
PayPal pointed out that you won’t be charged for holding crypto in your account, by waiving fees until 2021.
Mixed reactions greeted announcement
The PayPal Cryptos purchase announcement has generated hundreds of reactions from crypto enthusiasts around the world.
One of them, @minhokim tweeted:
“With PayPal recently announcing its plans to support crypto, we’re starting to see major acceleration in crypto adoption by payment apps and fintech co.’s in Asia. Now w Paycoin, it’s easier than ever for ppl to buy and spend their ICX at thousands of Danal’s merchant partners.”
Not excited about the update, @DrHOSP1 described PayPal’s decision as irresponsible, vowing to stop doing business with the firm. He described cryptocurrency as “gamble”
“Irresponsible, to allow gambling on ponzis on your plattform. You just lost a user and more will follow,” he said.
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