- PayPal enables U.S. business accounts to buy, hold and sell crypto, but not initially available in New York state.
- The service allows businesses to pay and get paid in crypto seamlessly.
- PayPal is expanding its crypto offerings after launching crypto trading for individual accounts in 2020.
PayPal recently announced that it will enable U.S. business accounts to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency. This new service expands PayPal’s crypto offering beyond just buying and selling to now letting businesses hold crypto balances.
However, the service will not be available to users in New York state initially.
Allowing Businesses to Buy and Hold Crypto
PayPal first launched cryptocurrency buying and selling in the U.S. in October 2020. Since then, the feature has rolled out to PayPal users in the UK and other markets.
The new service will allow businesses to buy crypto directly within their PayPal account and hold balances of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.
Businesses can also fully close out positions and transfer crypto off platform, providing even more flexibility in managing their cryptocurrency.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Vice President and General Manager of Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPal, said this capability will give businesses more choice in how they manage their crypto.
Selling Crypto
In addition to buying and holding, businesses will also be able to sell crypto. This provides a seamless way for businesses to convert crypto holdings to cash.
The crypto balances can be instantly converted to USD and fiat at checkout on PayPal with no additional transaction fees.
This allows businesses to free up cash and provides more overall liquidity in managing finances.
Not Available in New York Initially
While the new crypto service will be available to most U.S. business accounts, it will not be enabled for New York-based businesses initially.
New York has more stringent requirements for crypto companies, often referred to as the BitLicense. PayPal says it is working to obtain the BitLicense so that New York businesses can eventually take advantage of crypto services.
For now, buying, holding and selling crypto will only be available to U.S. businesses outside of New York state.
Conclusion
Allowing businesses to buy, hold and sell crypto provides more flexibility in how they manage cryptocurrency. This expands upon PayPal’s previous offering that was limited to only buying and selling.
While New York-based businesses cannot access the new crypto features yet, PayPal says it is working on obtaining the proper licensing so those users can eventually take advantage of the service.
This step forward signals PayPal’s continued commitment to crypto services and meeting the needs of business users. As cryptocurrency adoption grows, more functionality like this can be expected.
