PayPal Is Looking to Take Advantage of Cryptocurrency to Stand out Among its Competitors, or Not?
Jun 27, 2020 at 10:56 //
News
Since June 22, the community has been excited by the news that PayPal is going to launch direct buy and sell of cryptocurrency. However, the payment giant is taking its time to provide any confirmations, making people hesitate if this is something more than rumours.
The plans of PayPal were first reported by Condesk news outlet when it cited an anonymous source allegedly close to the company. The rumour was amplified by the fact that PayPal announced the hiring of blockchain and cryptocurrency engineers to its team. This has put the entire community in excitement, for PayPal is one of the biggest and most popular payment operators globally. So, if the company adopts cryptocurrency, it might significantly boost the market.
Suspicious silence
However, none of the PayPal representatives officially commented on the news. Coinbase and Bitstamp that are said to be its partners on the crypto introduction also keep silent, refusing to communicate with the media on the matter. On one hand, it might mean that the plans are still in process, and the company does not want to announce anything before the planning stage is over.
On the other hand, this might be nothing but rumours, and PayPal actually has no plans on adopting cryptocurrency. In fact, the founder of the company Bill Harris used to call Bitcoin a scam, which might put users in doubt about such a drastic change of strategy. While commenting on Coindesk’s tweet with the news, a user gunner6356 has even called PayPal crooks.
Keeping up with progress
Nevertheless, the community is generally supportive of such an initiative, while making guesses which coin PayPal might choose. Indeed, such a move seems quite logical, considering the popularity cryptocurrency has gained recently. Offering direct cryptocurrency buying and selling opportunities could make PayPal stand out among its competitors and strengthen its position as the leading payment processor.
As of now, the company has 325 million users. After introducing cryptocurrency, it may attract much more users, including those unbanked or underbanked. Besides, as coinidol.com, a world blockchain news outlet reported, Bitcoin exceeded PayPal in annual transaction volume back in 2019. So adopting such a currency into its system might actually push PayPal way ahead of their competitors.
As of now, PayPal has lots of alternatives including Shopify, Payline, Payoneer, Square, Skrill and others. Most of them have much cheaper fees and flexible conditions, which allows them to successfully compete with PayPal. However, most of them do not accept cryptocurrency, at least, not directly. Only Square introduced bitcoin purchases with its Cash App in 2018, and it brings them millions in profits.
Launching of direct opportunities for buying and selling cryptocurrency will turn PayPal into a number one payment processor worldwide. Besides, such a move will be a step forward to finally connecting traditional currencies and digital ones.
OhNoCryptocurrency via https://www.ohnocrypto.com/ @coinidol.com By Lana Smiley, @Khareem Sudlow
