Expanding into the UK market, the fintech company’s service will allow customers to buy as little as £1 of cryptocurrency barring transaction and other fees.
PayPal is now planning to allow its UK customers to buy, sell, and hold bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies starting this week, the company announced on August 23.
This is the first time that the company is launching this service outside the United States wherein it had introduced the “Checkout with Crypto” feature in March to enable customers in the US to convert their cryptocurrency holdings to other currencies.
The launch comes at a time when regulators are more watchful of the rising investments in digital currencies. In June, UK’s Financial Control Authority (FCA) which regulates the country’s financial industry, had issued an advisory against the British subsidiary of Binance due to its failure to meet anti-money-laundering regulations.
More details about the launch
As per PayPal’s statement, customers can view real-time crypto prices, access educational content, learn more about cryptocurrencies, and can choose from four types of cryptocurrencies –
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Cash
Trading with PayPal: Customers can buy as little as £1 of cryptocurrency via their account. They can also choose from either a predetermined purchase amount or enter their own purchase amount. Customers will be able to fund their PayPal account for the purchase using their bank account or debit card. If customers choose to sell cryptocurrency with this new service, funds are normally available quickly to spend in their PayPal account. There are no fees to hold cryptocurrency in a PayPal account however there are transaction fees and currency conversion fees for trading applicable cryptocurrencies.
Educational content to comprehend Cryptocurrency ecosystem: PayPal account holders can also access educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem – the volatility, risks, and opportunities related to purchasing cryptocurrency.
Partnership with Paxos: The company has partnered with Paxos Trust Company to enable its cryptocurrency offering. PayPal’s venture capital arm has also made investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency-related start-ups including TRM Labs, leading cryptocurrency risk management software; TaxBit, a provider of crypto tax software to customers and exchanges; and Talos, institutional-grade infrastructure technology for digital asset trading.
UK not among top 20 countries adopting crypto, but India is
The Global Cryptocurrency Index measures which country has the highest cryptocurrency adoption in the world and is created by Chainalysis, a blockchain data platform.
- While Vietnam topped the list of countries followed by India at the second position, the UK did not make it to the top 20 countries on the list. The USA stood at 8th position.
- According to the report, there has been an increase in the adoption of cryptocurrency globally by 881 percent in the last year and by 2300 percent since the third quarter of 2019.
- The Index measured 154 countries according to their metrics to calculate the adoption of cryptocurrency.
- None of the European countries featured in the top 20 countries in the Index.
Also read:
- India Ranks Second In Cryptocurrency Adoption In The World: Report
- Google Removes 8 Fake Cryptocurrency Mining Apps After Cybersecurity Firm Exposes Them As Malware
- Cryptocurrency: Small Cities Register Growth Of 2648 Percent In User Sign-Ups On WazirX
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