PayPal has confirmed that its customers will soon be able to transfer cryptocurrency from their accounts to external wallets for the first time. Currently, it is only possible for customers with crypto coins in their accounts to either hold onto them or spend them.
CoinDesk, Head of Blockchain Services for PayPal, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, confirmed that the service will be introduced at Consensus 2021, a conference organised and hosted by CoinDesk.
“We want to make it as open as possible, and we want to give choice to our consumers,” Jose confirmed for those in attendance.
“Same as we let them pay any way they want to pay, we want them to bring their crypto to us, so they use it in commerce, and we want them to take the crypto they acquire with us and take it to the destination of their choice.”
When quizzed as to the likelihood of PayPal introducing its stable coin sometime in the near future, Mr. da Ponte stated that it is “way too early” for this kind of move to be made. He also commented on expectations with regard to the rollout of central bank digital currencies, stating that “it absolutely makes sense that central banks will issue their own tokens.”
A long-awaited service expansion
PayPal officially entered the cryptocurrency game as recently as March this year, when it was confirmed that the company would begin letting customers in the US use crypto coins for payments.
Shortly after, PayPal announced that it would allow its customers to connect their accounts with their Coinbase-operated digital wallets, facilitated by the Venmo payment app.
“Crypto on Venmo is a new way for the Venmo community to start exploring the world of crypto within the Venmo environment they trust and rely on as a key component of their everyday financial lives,” commented Senior Vice President of PayPal and General Manager of Venmo, Darrell Esch.
“No matter where you are in your cryptocurrency journey, crypto on Venmo will help our community learn and explore cryptocurrencies on a trusted platform and directly in the app they know and love.”
“Our goal is to provide our customers with an easy-to-use platform that simplifies the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies and demystifies some common questions and misconceptions that consumers may have.”