PayPal Customers in the UK are getting Crypto Services

One of the biggest boosts to the start of the 2020/2021 crypto rally was the fact that PayPal decided to expand into the same financial domain. When the news broke months ago, it established the firm trajectory of both institutional investment and institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. PayPal is a huge financial service company that became a benchmark of a successful digital enterprise in this domain. Now, it is etching its name in the wider cryptocurrency arena as one of the most advanced companies in terms of crypto adoption. So far, the company has decided to roll out limited cryptocurrency services to its US customers. After many weeks of successful activity that did not see any major glitches come about, the company decided to take the next step. 

That involves rolling out the same crypto functionality to their customers in the United Kingdom. Here, PayPal users will soon attain their own digital wallets embedded in the regular PayPal platform. With that, they will be able to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency tokens as they would on any native digital exchange currently operating in the world. These services will come with some limits and reduced functionality in comparison to fully independent digital wallets. But, despite this, the development is still a big move in the fintech domain and crypto markets. It also coincides with an overall atmosphere that is very positive in terms of crypto price potential, as well as its perpetually growing market capitalization. 

UK PayPal Crypto Wallet

The PayPal extension of its crypto service is a process that will introduce four different cryptocurrencies to their UK customers. With all of these, users will be able to sell, buy and hold these tokens. In the initial rollout, the services will support bitcoin, litecoin, ether, and bitcoin cash. The initial transaction level for all of these will be only one GBP, which presently equals around 1.4 USD. Starting with that sum, PayPal users will be able to invest in crypto and many will get a chance to do that for the first time ever. 

Not only that, but the rollout is also the first-ever expansion of this financial service outside of the US territories. That in itself is massive news because it showcases that the trend of PayPal crypto integration is not going poorly in the US. Instead, the generally cautious company is willing to extend outwards with its crypto functionality and bring more countries into the fold. Also, this is a clear sign that other countries are going to be on the roster pretty soon. 

Further Expansion

The process of UK PayPal crypto rollout will commence this week. It will take some time to make sure that all of the features are working properly and according to UK laws. That should take several weeks and possibly see some further smaller extensions if the process comes across any glitches. However, eligible UK customers should get their crypto functionality in the early fall no matter what. Analysts are certain that this is the in-between step from going to the next natural market, which is the European Union.

Countries in the EU could be the next stop for the PayPal expansion and this could happen sooner than later if the UK process does not encounter any major problem. That market, however, is much bigger and would likely demand a longer time in terms of the regulatory framework. With that in mind, markets like Switzerland, which already have some tried and tested cryptocurrency regulations, might see PayPal move in faster. But, there is little doubt that the company is targeting the European markets as its next leg in the crypto rollout. 

Limitations

PayPal already made clear that there will be some limitations that will apply to their crypto services in the UK. These are very much in line with the general terms and conditions that the same financial service offers to its US customers. For any user to engage with the crypto services, they first need to verify their identity and provide documents like passports or some other national ID card. In the domains like esports, social media, and many other facets of digital services, this is often not required. However, as PayPal offers a global reach and the ability to move money from a range of points, the same is a necessity because of things like KYC (know your customer) regulations. 

Furthermore, the regulatory requirements and other factors stop PayPal from providing their crypto services to their business users. So, only private accounts will have this support for cryptocurrency transactions enabled. Finally, the platform does not allow one crucial cryptocurrency function – moving tokens away from PayPal. Presently, users can only trade in crypto and hold it on their accounts. However, back in May 2021, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, who is the vice president of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies at PayPal, said that the company is working on this functionality. So, that too should appear at some future point for the users of this platform.  

Moving in the Right Direction

Even with all of the mentioned limitations, there is no doubt that PayPal is moving in the right direction in terms of crypto development. It introduced the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies, like the popular BTC token, back in October 2020. This took place roughly at the same time when the crypto markets entered their strongest bullish sentiment ever seen. In the next six months or so, the price of BTC, but also other digital currencies skyrocketed. 

Many analysts and cryptocurrency experts believe that the same integration of crypto in one of the biggest digital financial service providers offered fuel for this bull market. The UK movement comes also in a great moment, with BTC tokens reaching 50,000 USD for the first time in three months. Already, the development has caught on in the mainstream media, which is usually a good showcase of the potential of such news. Because of this, it is to be expected that the PayPal decision will enforce the present price recovery, at least to some extent. 

Source: Coindesk