Did you always want to transfer crypto from PayPal to external wallets? Now, you can transfer crypto from PayPal to external wallets.
PayPal announced on Tuesday that cryptocurrency users can finally shift funds outside of its platform, a long-awaited innovation that will bring the company’s offering closer to that of other major cryptocurrency providers.
In a statement, PayPal said, “Starting today, PayPal facilitates the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges.”
External transfers on PayPal’s crypto platform, which can be seen in the image below, will begin rolling out to users today and will be available to everyone in the United States within the next week or two.
PayPal’s crypto offering debuted in late 2020, allowing users to purchase, sell, and hold four cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin—but not to transfer funds to third-party services like MetaMask, Coinbase, or hardware wallets.
Because PayPal, which also owns the famous app Venmo, is used by hundreds of millions of people across the world to move money and is increasingly used by merchants as a payment platform, the fact that consumers can now do so is significant.
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman discusses Bitcoin, the crypto market, regulation, PayPal’s new entry into the industry, and what’s next in digital payments with Decrypt Executive Editor Jeff Roberts.
It’s also worth noting that, despite a financial downturn that has seen PayPal’s stock price plummet in recent months, the corporation is sticking to its ambitious crypto objectives.
A PayPal executive told Decrypt that the corporation is taking the long view when it comes to adopting a crypto strategy.
“We’re in crypto because we anticipate a significant amount of business will shift to digital currencies,” Jose Fernandez da Ponte, the company’s SVP of blockchain and crypto, said.
This, according to Fernandez da Ponte, is one of the main reasons the company doesn’t charge for cryptocurrency transactions: the company’s crypto plans are focused on commerce rather than establishing an exchange. PayPal is also optimistic about more countries adopting stablecoins and central bank currencies, which would benefit the company’s business model.
For the time being, it’s unclear how much crypto is helping PayPal’s bottom line, especially since the business doesn’t say how many individuals use its Bitcoin and Ethereum services. If the volume of crypto transactions via PayPal is any indication, the volume of crypto transactions at Coinbase and Robinhood—two prominent crypto businesses—has likely decreased dramatically as a result of the recent market fall.
Fernandez da Ponte seems unconcerned.
“There’s a lot of talk about crypto winter,” he said, “but it’s vital to look beyond that.” “The macro trend [of widespread cryptocurrency use] is unaffected.”