PayPal announced that customers from the UK would be able to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies starting this week. The roll-out marks the company's first international expansion of crypto services outside the US.
The payment provider launched cryptocurrency buying and selling in the US earlier this year. It enabled customers to use the digital coin holdings to shop at millions of merchants on its network. PayPal believes its foray into the new asset class would encourage global users of internet-based currencies and prepare its network for new digital coins that corporations and central banks may develop.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager for blockchains, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal, stated: "We are committed to continue working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support— and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce."
In the UK, PayPal's service will rival specialized crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and fintech startups such as Revolut. The move comes as financial institutions started offering access to digital assets amid rising crypto prices.
At the moment of writing, PayPal closed 0.88% higher.
Sources: finance.yahoo.com, reuters.com