PayPal will allow the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies in 2021

• Finally, rumors that PayPal offers cryptocurrencies to its users have been confirmed.
• The official announcement states that PayPal will allow customers to use cryptocurrencies to buy from the 26 million merchants on its network.

PayPal will offer the possibility of buying using cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, BCH and LTC as of early 2021 in more than 26 million merchants worldwide. Customers will also be able to buy cryptocurrencies directly through PayPal.

PayPal is one of the most popular global payment providers with more than 340 million active accounts. Rumors about the crypto platform’s support started earlier this year, but were never confirmed until now. President and CEO Dan Schulman said in an interview:

We are working with central banks and thinking about all forms of digital currencies and how PayPal can play a role

Cryptocurrency payments through PayPal will be settled using fiat currencies, which means that merchants will not receive cryptocurrencies, but the conversion to fiat at the time of sale. This measure was introduced to avoid the massive volatility that cryptocurrencies are subject to.

Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal stated:

The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable and brings clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payment system; and the ability of governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly. Our global reach, digital payments expertise, bilateral network, and rigorous security and compliance controls give us the opportunity and responsibility to help facilitate the understanding, redemption, and interoperability of these new exchange instruments. We look forward to working with central banks and regulators around the world to offer our support and contribute significantly to shaping the role that digital currencies will play in the future of global commerce and finance.