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PayPal crypto trading function is finally coming to the UK. British customers can now buy, sell and hold crypto with PayPal.
The financial company has become one of the biggest mainstream financial institutions to give customers access to crypto trading. PayPal users from the UK can now trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Litecoin.
The new option was first introduced in the US and resulted in a significant surge in user activity on the PayPal platform. According to the website, US customers who buy crypto with PayPal log in twice as often as those who don’t.
We expect digital currencies to play an important role in consumer payments over the longer term.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte · Vice President, General Manager Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPal
The update brings PayPal into competition with other big UK fintech company Revolut. However, the Revolut platform enabled this feature years ago and already supports over 30 tokens.
When will Europeans have access to the buy crypto with PayPal service?
Currently, there is no clear answer to this question. The EU launch date for the crypto trading product is still unknown.
PayPal plans to gradually roll out this functionality to other global markets in the coming years.
Earlier this year, PayPal announced a “Checkout with Crypto” function in the US. It gives American users the ability to convert their crypto holdings to cash without fees. However, this option is not available in the UK for now.
At first, UK customers will be able to buy, sell and hold crypto with PayPal. Later on, the company might include more functionalities for the crypto enthusiasts.
This is a major step forward towards the mass adoption of digital currencies. More and more payment companies will naturally follow their lead.
Nigel Green at financial services firm deVere Group
