Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: People, Culture and Tech
PayPal only began allowing U.S. customers to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash on Nov. 12. In 2021, it will expand that service to its whole 350 million strong international customer base, president and CEO Dan Schulman said. That will vastly expanding the number of potential mainstream retail investors.
“Early next year we’re going to allow cryptocurrencies to be a funding source for any transaction happening at all 28 million of our merchants, and that will significantly bolster the utility of cryptocurrencies," Schulman said.
Announced last month, the crypto support went live for U.S. customers on Nov. 12, marking a new level of mainstream availability of cryptocurrency. In addition, PayPal said it will “significantly increase cryptocurrency's utility” as it will be usable for purchases at the company’s network of 26 million merchants worldwide.
Pointing to the payments giant’s intention “to increase the utility of cryptocurrencies, as well as, embrace new forms of central bank digital currencies,” Schulman said, “We are entering a new era of financial services where our wallets and all the services around them are moving from physical to digital. These include identity management, new forms of commerce, and fully digital payments and financial services.”
