PayPal recently launched a new service that enables merchants in the U.S. users to purchase, hold, and sell crypto on their PayPal business accounts.
According to the report, the new feature is designed in a way that can enhance the utility of cryptos for millions of businesses located in the United States. However, the service will be unavailable to business accounts in New York State due to some regulatory concerns.
PayPal’s New Features for Merchants
The released feature is an attempt to satisfy the growing requirement of business people in the United States. This development means that these merchants can now conduct their digital currencies within their PayPal account. This would be a new facet of their business.
The option makes it possible for PayPal business users to engage with digital assets in the same way customers do.
“Since we launched the ability for PayPal and Venmo consumers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency in their wallets, we have learned a lot about how they want to use their cryptocurrency,”
said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies, PayPal.
“Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers. We’re excited to meet that demand by delivering this new offering, empowering them to engage with digital currencies effortlessly.”
Merchants are also able to send or receive cryptocurrency outside the PayPal system to other suitable third-party wallets. This new on-chain transfer capacity enables the merchants to transfer supported tokens from their PayPal wallets.
They can trasnfer it to other blockchain wallet addresses. The service is expected to fit the recent popularity of the adoption of crypto by enterprises with ease.
PayPal’s Ongoing Push in the Crypto Market
This expansion is part of PayPal’s broader plan to promote the use of cryptocurrency among its clients. PayPal started offering cryptocurrency trading to retail customers in 2020. During that time it enabled consumers to purchase, store, and sell digital currencies through PayPal and Venmo.
In the year 2023, PayPal started a new product through which they launched a new stablecoin known as PayPal USD (PYUSD). The launch of PYUSD is part of PayPal’s effort to offer a stable and reliable digital currency for payments. PayPal’s Xoom integrated PYUSD in April 2024. This integration allows consumers to make international money transfers free of charge if the transfers were financed using PYUSD.
Recently, PayPal took an extension to PYUSD on the Solana blockchain which has fast transactions and is cheaper than Ethereum. The idea is to provide users with cheaper and faster payment solutions. It can be done with the help of the company’s cooperation with Solana.
New Incentives for PYUSD Holders
PayPal has also introduced new features to increase the utility of its PYUSD stablecoin. Currently, through its cooperation with Anchorage Digital, PayPal provides interest for institutional clients who use PYUSD. This has been meant to help bring more adoption to the stablecoin whose market has been slow since it was launched.
PYUSD stakers receive these rewards to retain and capture new accredited investors who hold the token through Anchorage Digital, a crypto-friendly bank, or Porto, a non-custodial Anchorage wallet.
These rewards will stem from the interest derived from U.S Treasuries that underpin the stablecoin and make it ideal for institutional holders. The deployment of the program is a continuation of PayPal’s plans to encourage more usage of its stablecoin.
The introduction of these features could help PayPal gain market share against competitors and grow the use of PYUSD in various financial applications. It also reflects its commitment to making cryptocurrency more accessible for both businesses and consumers.