- Paypal has been upgraded from a conditional New York BitLicense to a full one
- Users can now withdraw their crypto to wallets and other exchanges
- The move could see PayPal branch out into more areas of crypto
Paypal has stepped up its level of crypto adoption by gaining a full New York BitLicense, allowing users to withdraw their cryptocurrency for the first time. The payment processor had been in possession of a conditional BitLicense which allowed it to sell crypto derivatives but not the real thing, a situation which yesterday changed when it announced it had gained a full BitLicense.
We’re excited to announce that PayPal will begin supporting the transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges. This feature is rolling out to all eligible US customers in the coming weeks. Learn more: https://t.co/PelvFv7eRW pic.twitter.com/YkzPOV7teq
— PayPal (@PayPal) June 7, 2022
Paypal Moves from CFDs to the Real Thing
Paypal announced its dive into the world of crypto in October 2020, supporting the purchase and sale of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum on its platform. However, rather than users purchasing actual coins they were instead only buying contracts for difference (CFDs) because this was all Paypal was legally able to sell at the time.
18 months after its crypto CFD offering went live however, Payal is finally able to support a full crypto offering, including the ability for users to move their coins off the platform. This is due to the company converting its conditional BitLicense into to a full one.
Paypal’s blockchain head Jose Fernandez da Ponte told Consensus last year that the company was working on allowing users to withdraw their funds, saying that “We want to make it as open as possible, and we want to give choice to our consumers”.
Start of Bigger Things?
A year later Paypal has honoured that desire, announcing on Tuesday that it was opening up crypto withdrawals and then later in the day confirming that its BitLicense had been upgraded from a conditional one to a full one.
Fernandez da Ponte told Coindesk that gaining a full BitLicense was an important aspect of the company’s crypto plans:
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.
Paypal is clearly very keen on immersing itself into the cryptocurrency world, and with a full BitLicense now in its possession it will be able to expand its offerings to other areas, potentially a more involved exchange.
