In an effort to encourage the use of cryptocurrency, PayPal now offers users the ability to transfer their bitcoin balances to other wallets and exchanges.

The news comes as PayPal announced it had received approval from the New York Department of Financial Services for its BitLicense program, which permits businesses to conduct business with virtual currencies.

PayPal announced in a statement, "Starting today, PayPal supports the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges."

According to a release, PayPal's new crypto-sending feature will not incur fees or network charges for sending crypto to friends and family.

Upon the platform's offering of the four crypto assets in October 2020, the enhancement was brought based on popular demand. The new service will allow users to move cryptocurrency assets into and out of PayPal wallets, as well as external exchanges and hardware wallets.

PayPal now has this feature, which is significant, since hundreds of millions of users around the world use the company's app Venmo to transfer money and merchants are increasingly using it to accept payments.

Company representatives mentioned they were considering offering cryptocurrency buyers cash back on purchases, and Venmo cardholders could use cashback from card purchases to buy cryptocurrency.

Jose Fernandez da Ponte, the company's SVP of blockchain and crypto, said that the company views pursuing a crypto strategy as a long-term proposition.

Moreover, Fernando da Ponte added, that an important reason that the company does not charge for crypto transactions is that it does not run an exchange but focuses on commerce.

Amidst recent market turmoil resulting in a drop in PayPal's shares, PayPal has not changed its crypto plans.

As of now, the service is only available to some U.S. customers, but all eligible U.S. subscribers will have access to it soon.

Pavan A

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA