Mark Weaden
At the end of last year, Elon Musk announced PayPal would be offering payments using cryptocurrencies in the U.S., this has now been extended to the U.K
British customers can now buy, sell, and hold digital assets. PayPal isn't alone, as we’ve already seen many payment services offering cryptocurrency options. Company CEO Elon Musk has been the mouthpiece for the community at times and the direction of PayPal is a reflection of his interest in crypto.
While for now there are limited options in terms of cryptocurrencies to deposit, the project is still developing and we’re likely to see that change in the near future. The U.S. has adopted cryptocurrency much quicker than the U.K. market, but the hope is this will put PayPal at the forefront of future online payment services.
What will customers have access to?
While the U.K. doesn’t have the same rate of adoption for crypto as the U.S., it does have a fast-growing community and is likely to catch up quickly. PayPal is a very popular payment method in the U.K., so those customers that do work with digital currencies, expect them to quickly switch to PayPal.
As of today, customers will have the option to buy or sell Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin with as little as £1. As well as that, customers will be able to track crypto prices in real-time, whilst using the Paxos payment system to enable crypto buying and selling in the U.K.
It was less than a month ago that the U.K. financial watchdog requested a ban for certain crypto trading platforms, including one of the leaders in the industry Binance. The ban has been upheld, but this isn’t something that’s likely to concern those working at PayPal, as they are simply facilitating its use for purchasing, rather than encouraging trading per se.
Mainstream adoption is close
There are an array of small ebanks and payment services available to users in the U.K. But, only a handful are offering cryptocurrencies payment options. Yet, we’re seeing an increasing number of payment services taking notice of the evolving crypto industry.
The fact it’s hard to ignore, coupled with the fact many of the top payment services like Visa and Mastercard, as well as many others, are making the process even easier for payment platforms to adapt. On top of that, the ease of access to digital currencies through exchanges makes the barriers for entry even lower.
One of the issues that remains a blocker for many newcomers is the fact that crypto is an unregulated world. But, as some of the biggest companies in the world warm to crypto, the public is starting to take notice.
