PayPal has announced that it will soon start allowing users to withdraw their digital assets from their platform into third-party wallets. Previously you could only buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the platform and this has been a pain for most users. PayPal’s VP of Blockchain and cryptocurrencies said that the platform would soon allow users to withdraw crypto from their platform to external wallets.
The Vice President of Blockchain and cryptocurrencies at PayPal. Jose Fernandez da Ponte said at a crypto conference that making the whole process open was paramount. “we want to make it as open as possible, and we want to give choice to our consumers, something that will let them pay in any way they want to pay. They want to bring in their crypto to us, so they can use it in commerce, and we want them to be able to take the crypto they acquired with us and take it to the destination of their choice.”
He however didn’t offer a precise that on when the new feature will be available on PayPal. But if we can go by their track records it would only take few weeks before they launch. It only took few months between the announcement and launch of cryptocurrencies on PayPal.
Questions were also raised regarding a potential Stable coin launch by PayPal but the VP responded by saying that it was far too early to consider the matter. He however made it clear that the stable coins and CBDCs (Central Bank of Digital Currencies) would co-exist together.
Stablecoins have been a point of contention among regulators and incumbent financial institutions. Some regulators are worried that it would impinge on severing authority, while others are saying that they can be regulated. Facebook Diem has been the center of these discussions because it is a cryptocurrency that is going to be backed by the dollar bill. Facebooks crypto is also going to be regulated by a physical bank.
This news is a big one especially for people who are new to buying cryptocurrencies it can even spur another wave of purchases. Users would be happier to be able to move their digital assets to safer storage platforms. This will also bring in a new set of buyers to PayPal that will buy and move to other platforms.
PayPal has over 361 million active users globally and there are going to be a lot of novices that will jump into the world of crypto through PayPal. The reputation of PayPal will also play a big role in bringing in new buyers of crypto. PayPal is a trusted financial platform and this will also be a confidence builder for people who are in doubt about cryptocurrencies.
