PayPal allows users to transfer crypto to external wallets

On June 7, PayPal announced that crypto users can now move funds off its platform to external wallets and hardware devices, a long-awaited feature that will make the company’s offering more like other popular cryptocurrency services.

“Starting today, PayPal supports the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges,” the payment platform said in a statement.

The ability to conduct external transfers on PayPal’s crypto platform will start rolling out to users today and be available to everyone in the US within the next two weeks.

In late 2020, PayPal launched its crypto offering, which allows users to buy, hold, and sell four cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin, but not to move the funds to external destinations like MetaMask, Coinbase, or hardware wallets.

This move is significant because PayPal, also owning the popular app Venmo, is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide to move money and is increasingly used by merchants for its payments.

Notably, PayPal is also not backing off its ambitious crypto plans, despite a financial downturn that’s seen the company’s share price gets battered in recent months.

PayPal SVP of blockchain and crypto, Fernandez da Ponte, said in an interview with Decrypt that the company is taking the long view when it comes to pursuing a crypto strategy.

“The whole reason we’re in crypto is because we believe a substantial portion of commerce is going to move to digital currencies,” the PayPal executive said.

Da Ponte added this is a big reason the company doesn’t charge for crypto transactions because its crypto plans revolve around commerce, not operating an exchange business. He also noted that PayPal is bullish on more countries embracing stablecoins and central bank currencies, a development that would favor the company’s business model.

“There’s a lot of discussion about crypto winter, but it’s important to see beyond that,” Fernandez da Ponte said. “The macro trend [of broad crypto adoption] is undisturbed.”

Earlier this January, PayPal confirmed that it was researching its own stablecoin after developer Steve Moser found code inside the PayPal app regarding PayPal Coin, a US dollar-backed stablecoin. A company’s spokesperson confirmed the code and images came from an internal hackathon by the company’s blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies division.