PayPal and Bitcoin

It was recently announced that PayPal has decided to begin accepting cryptocurrency payments, and this could be the best news for bitcoin and other online tokens in their history. Bitcoin was first conceived in 2009 and, although it has been gaining more recognition over the years since then, it has rarely threatened to go mainstream. This is partly down to the fact that most people simply don’t know how to perform transactions with it. PayPal’s cryptocurrency adoption could quickly change people’s thinking about cryptocurrency.

PayPal Finally Decides to Introduce Crypto Payments

Since being spun off by eBay in 2015, PayPal has grown at an astonishing rate and is now available in 200 countries. This massive global reach means that it accepts a vast number of diverse currencies and handles exchanges when it comes to international transfers. With the company at the forefront of online payments, it was only a matter of time before it began to take note of digital currencies.

Indeed, the CEO and president, Dan Schulman, believes that the adoption of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had been preordained. He said, “The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly.”

PayPal’s adoption of bitcoin will initially occur throughout the USA, with a view to opening up to payments in other countries at a later date. When the news was first announced in October 2020, industry experts already saw this as a ground-breaking move for digital currencies. The price had been hovering around the $12,000 mark, but it swiftly began to rise as investors jumped back on board. This led to it reaching an all-time high in January 2021 of more than $40,000.
With all this happening simply because of the news that PayPal will adopt bitcoin, what will happen when it actually begins to enjoy widespread usage on the payment platform? Some are speculating that this could put bitcoin firmly on the path towards the $100,000 mark within the next three years.

Why is This a Positive Move for Bitcoin?

There are myriad reasons why PayPal’s acceptance of cryptocurrency is great news for bitcoin. The payment platform has rapidly become one of the best-known and most trusted ways to perform transactions online, and a vast number of people already use it. There are currently 346 million users, and the average user conducts around 37 transactions a year. If only a fraction of the people on the platform opted for bitcoin payments, it would be great news for the cryptocurrency.

PayPal’s solid reputation will be a major boost for bitcoin. Many people may have been hesitant to trust in this technology before but, with PayPal on board, those opinions could soon change. Indeed, the name of PayPal has become almost a certification of trustworthiness for numerous online industries. For instance, looking at live casino game providers like Betway as an example, you will usually see a PayPal logo displayed at the bottom of a page alongside other established payment methods like VISA. This shows that these iGaming businesses see allowing PayPal deposits and withdrawals as a selling point for their users.

PayPal has become almost as ubiquitous as VISA and MasterCard when it comes to performing online payments, and businesses that offer it look more credible to their users. Some other examples of successful online businesses that offer PayPal include Argos, House of Fraser, and Iceland. All of the main online streaming services including Disney+ and Now TV allow users to pay using PayPal as well.

The fact that all of these mainstream business models accept PayPal means that many of them could soon become options at which people can pay using bitcoin. This would be a major step towards the cryptocurrency becoming mainstream and could decrease its volatility as it’s normalised.

Does This Spell a New Era for Cryptocurrency?

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in bitcoin’s timeline has been working out a way to successfully make the digital currency a mainstream option for consumers. It has always represented an exciting prospect for investors but has been commonly referred to as digital gold. The problem with gold is, you can’t hand it over to a shopkeeper in exchange for items.

With PayPal now offering a viable solution in terms of being able to spend bitcoin, it could start seeing mainstream usage. It could be incredibly useful for international transfers in particular, as PayPal charges quite a high rate for cross-currency transactions at present. If a merchant and consumer in separate countries were both using bitcoin, it could lower the fees significantly and make international purchases more desirable. This could easily spell a new era for bitcoin if mainstream computing and software is quick to adapt.

PayPal’s adoption of bitcoin can only be good news for the cryptocurrency. Not only will it give bitcoin more exposure and provide an outlet for people to spend it, but it should also help to increase people’s trust in it.

Disclaimer: This article contains sponsored marketing content. It is intended for promotional purposes and should not be considered as an endorsement or recommendation by our website. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise their own judgment before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article.

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