PayPal users can now move crypto coins to other wallets and exchanges. But the traditional finance platforms aren’t happy about that.
Crypto regulation is a kind of tricky thing. Not all of the crypto community want full deanonymizing, but it’s a required measure.
On the other hand, regulators and financial institutions don’t want to see legal crypto. But they also understand it’s required as digital assets become more and more popular.
Some steps to adopt crypto are already taken. For instance, the new U.S. Congressional bill should make tax-free all transactions less than $200. This move could give more prosperity to crypto payments.
Now PayPal makes another step toward wide crypto adoption.
Despite some other fintech companies who are still afraid of the ‘digital assets threat’.
PayPal crypto news
Lately, PayPal allowed its cryptocurrency holders to transfer their digital assets off the platform to other wallets and exchanges. This feature was the most requested since the payment platform launched its crypto buy, sell and hold service in October 2020.
The move means PayPal is now open to other crypto platforms, DeFi-apps, NFT-marketplaces, and so on.
“We are definitely responding to demand from users, that is one aspect. We’ve also been very vocal from the beginning that we’re in this because we are a payments and commerce company, and we think that our role in the ecosystem is about increasing access,” senior vice president, blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies at PayPal Jose Fernandez da Ponte said.
PayPal users in the US (except Hawaii) can now move BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC from the platform to external wallets.
Earlier PayPal has become the world’s largest blockchain-enabled consumer digital wallet by allowing its users to send and accept crypto.
The company management encourages new users to acquire digital assets, NFTs, stablecoins, and other staff. There is even a US-dollar-backed PayPal coin, presented earlier this year.
Potential fintech threat
Right after the PayPal announcement, the boss of Goldman Sachs-backed digital bank Starling Anne Boden said that cryptocurrencies are a ‘threat to the safety of our payment schemes’.
“It is very dangerous. A lot of wallets are being connected directly to payment schemes. This is a threat to the safety of our payment schemes around the world,” She Warned.
Boden thinks that digital currencies pose a threat to the safety of payment infrastructure. And major payment platforms, including, Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal shouldn’t open their networks to crypto trading.
“Customers are being scammed. We’re spending far more of our time protecting customers from the scammers than we are trying to promote crypto,” Boden said.
Surely, regulators are concerned about popular financial systems becoming more entwined with the volatile world of crypto. Especially after the Terra platform crash.
But aren’t we talking about the totally new era of fintech which needs some push and support right now?
