It’s PayPal earnings day, and the firm has released new details about its cryptocurrency plans.
According to CEO Daniel Schulman, he has included a new dedicated business unit for PayPal’s crypto ambitions, which spoke during PayPal’s earnings call on Wednesday.
As he notes:
“We all know that the current financial system is outdated, and we can predict a future where transactions are completed in seconds, not days; a future where transactions must be cheaper to complete; and a future that all people enable us to be part of the digital economy, not just the affluent. We are investing heavily in our new business unit crypto, blockchain and digital currencies to help shape this more inclusive future. “
A source with knowledge of the plans described the plan for business units as PayPal going ‘all in’ on such services.
Schulman also said that PayPal “is excited to build on this early success by allowing customers to use their crypto balance as a source of financing when shopping with our 29 million merchants.”
“We expect the launch of this capability to begin late this quarter, and we hope to launch our first international market in the next few months,” he further explained. A Venmo integration with crypto is expected in the coming months.
Schulman described such steps as “just the beginning of an extensive roadmap around crypto, blockchain and digital currencies.”
Among other facts: according to Schulman, “everyone who signed up for crypto opens their app twice as much as before.”
PayPal made its crypto services official in October with the launch of a partnership with the operating company Paxos, as reported at the time. The services were officially launched in the days after the announcement and opened on November 12 for eligible users in the US.
The payments giant hit a bullish tone at the time, with Schulman remarking at the time: “This is just the beginning of the opportunities we see as we work hand-in-hand with regulators to adopt new forms of digital currencies.” He also suggested that PayPal might one day integrate digital currencies into the central bank if it gets steam in the future.
Ryan Todd, Frank Chaparro and Aislinn Keely reported.
This story is evolving and will be updated as more information becomes available.
© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.