Paypal adds new crypto features and extends transfer functionalities for users in the United States. Users there can now transfer BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC to and from exchanges and other wallets. This is a huge addition as the lack of transfer takes away a lot from the usability of a platform. One more thing that will be a game-changer for Paypal is the free-of-cost crypto transfer between different Paypal accounts.
How will these features shape Paypal’s crypto game?
An important thing to note here is that Paypal’s new features are not groundbreaking or innovative. A lot of platforms support them and allow for the transfer of crypto between exchanges, software wallets, and hardware wallets. However, there is one thing that Paypal has that most platforms don’t. So, what is it? Reach! In 2021, Paypal saw around $19 billion in total transactions, and the volume was around $1.25 trillion, which is massive. It also had 426 million users in 2021, a 12% jump from 377 million users in 2020.
The company has been steadily seeing an increase in transactions for the last 9-10 years and this trend shows increased adoption. So, as crypto features are being added to the platform, there is a good chance for it to take off. Even if 1% of users start using crypto for payments, that makes more than 4.26 million users and around $12.5 billion in annual transaction volume.
More importantly, businesses have started to enable crypto payments. So, if Paypal can offer the same, they wouldn’t need integration with other companies. It reported that more than users in the US pay with Paypal while shopping from eCommerce.
The problem with crypto payments
If I have to point out one thing because of which I wouldn’t use crypto payments, it would be the cost associated with it. Most platforms still do not support the lightning network of BTC, which makes it expensive to use. It is not even feasible for small transactions. However, reports suggest that Paypal will allow for crypto transactions between Paypal accounts without any charges. So, users can easily pay at stores with Paypal merchant accounts using crypto.
What are your thoughts as Paypal adds new crypto features? And do you think it can push the adoption o crypto transactions? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like and share it with your friends.
Also Read: Feds get sued by Crypto bank Custodia over a 19-month delay on account approval.
