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PayPal has expanded the crypto functionalities of its app by adding a long-awaited feature. The platform now supports third-party wallet transfers allowing customers to move their Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other digital currencies to other wallets and exchanges.
“Starting today, PayPal supports the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges,” the financial services giant said in a statement, according to Decrypt.
The new feature has started rolling out on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The company expects the rollout to be completed in the next week or two allowing all U.S. users to make crypto transfers off its platform to other wallets and exchanges by then.
Customers have been clamoring for such a feature since PayPal introduce the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptos in October 2020. Jose Fernandez da Ponte, senior vice president, blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal, told Coindesk that it has been in the works since 2021.
“We are definitely responding to demand from users, that is one aspect,” da Ponte said in an interview. “We’ve also been very vocal from the beginning that we’re in this because we are a payments and commerce company, and we think that our role in the ecosystem is about increasing access.”
With the ability to transfer Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital currencies, PayPal’s crypto offerings is now more in line with other popular crypto services and could lure in more users into the platform. “The early signs in terms of demand are very promising,” da Ponte commented.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be about the absolute number of users, or it’s going to be more about folks continuing to move in the adoption cycle,” he added. “We have a ton of people now who have adopted the basic product, and as they grow, they want to do more things. So, it’s less about bringing sophisticated users from the outside, it’s more continuing the learning curve for our base.”
Aside from support for third wallet crypto transfers, PayPal is also mulling on the possibility of bringing in NFT’s and stablecoins on its platform. “We want people on our platform acquiring digital currencies to be able to then use them to do something, whether it’s buying NFTs or interacting with games or other things, and stablecoins are a component of that and really important for the commerce and payments aspect to grow,” da Ponte said,
PayPal is not bothered by the recent crypto market downturn that saw Bitcoin trading below $30,000 and Ether below $2,000. “There’s a lot of discussion about crypto winter, but it’s important to see beyond that,” da Ponte told Decrypto. “The macro trend [of broad crypto adoption] is undisturbed.”
