• At the end of August PayPal announced the launch of a new service enabling UK customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency.
• Customers can choose from Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, simply by accessing their PayPal account via the website or the mobile app.
• Users will be able to view real-time crypto prices, access educational content, and learn about cryptocurrencies.
• This is the first international expansion of PayPal’s cryptocurrency service beyond the U.S.

In all respects, the history of human evolution is largely bound by one crucial thing: money.  Money has been created and recreated all around the world. Due to the way money represents the value of products and services, the concept of money is so much more significant than physical coins and banknotes, and transcends them.

Dealing with money today is more like moving electronic data from one device to another, a process that allows people around the world to trade goods and services every minute, and everyone wants to be a part of it.

That is why PayPal’s announcement of launching new services in the United Kingdom was tangibly anticipated. 

The Winds of Change

Just as in the lyrics of The Scorpions’ hit song ‘Wind of change’ “Did you ever think <…> that we could be so close, like brothers.” PayPal is working to bring cryptocurrencies closer to mainstream culture, so we can all become “one crypto family.” 

Yesterday the payments giant announced that it will be rolling out the new services later this week. The new service will enable customers in the UK to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency with PayPal.  

Users will be able to choose from four types of cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash and will be able to access it on their PayPal accounts using the mobile app or the website.

Customers can also view real-time crypto prices, access educational content to find out answers to commonly asked questions, and, most importantly, learn about cryptocurrencies, the opportunities it brings, and its risks.

In this way, PayPal hopes to encourage customers to research and learn about cryptocurrency before transacting.

How Will It Work?

PayPal’s services will offer customers a new way to explore cryptocurrency in a PayPal environment that is now widely considered trustable and safe. 

Moreover, users will be able to start by buying cryptocurrency in amounts as small as £1.  Cryptocurrency purchases will be processed through their PayPal account via the website, or their mobile app. Users can then further navigate to the new crypto tab and view the four cryptocurrencies available, their trends, and the current pricing.

Spreading Like Butter on Toast

The resistance of governments against crypto has been immense, however, once technology is out there, no one can stop it. Despite the numerous attempts to implement strict regulations that curb cryptocurrencies, it has still managed to run on like a wild horse.

PayPal is therefore not looking to slow down either. Instead, it  has continued to further integrate cryptocurrencies into its services. With the clear, demonstrable potential to make more money, PayPal has been exploring other digital currencies through partnerships with licensed and regulated cryptocurrency platforms, and with central banks globally. As Catulle Mendes said: “Money does not smell of the mire whence it came; it has the glorious scent of what will be.”

Paypal’s announcement that it will be launching new services in the UK marks the first international expansion of the company’s cryptocurrency offerings outside of the United States. Most importantly, as a trusted brand, PayPal is now providing an important, and much needed avenue to access knowledge, and explore cryptocurrencies for customers in the UK. Hence, PayPal now has the potential to become mainstream in the country.

PayPal was one of the largest companies in the world to enter the digital currency market when it announced last October that it would allow its millions of U.S. customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. In March this year, the company announced “Checkout with Crypto,” allowing customers in the U.S. to use their cryptocurrency alongside other payment methods in their PayPal wallet when  making purchases from businesses worldwide. In April, the company introduced its crypto services on their Venmo mobile payment service in the U.S.

On The Flipside

• It seems like crypto soon will be fully embedded in our lives before we even know it. While governments fight against crypto, private companies are taking matters into their own hands.
• The spread of such services will hopefully smooth the widely held fear of crypto, and will help it to become accepted as a societal norm.

Why You Should Care?

• PayPal launching new crypto services is further proof that we are entering a new era of digitization.
• Companies are massively adopting crypto, and nothing can stop that. 
• This change is inevitable, so understanding crypto and its adoption early is more important than most would think.