PayPal now allows crypto spending at millions of merchants

PayPal has started allowing U.S. users to spend their cryptocurrency holdings at millions of online merchants globally.

The development means PayPal users who hold bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), and litecoin (LTC) in PayPal digital wallets can now convert their crypto holdings into fiat to make purchases. Reuters first reported the news.

"This is the first time you can seamlessly use cryptocurrencies in the same way as a credit card or a debit card inside your PayPal wallet," PayPal CEO and president Dan Schulman told Reuters. "We think it is a transitional point where cryptocurrencies move from being predominantly an asset class that you buy, hold and or sell to now becoming a legitimate funding source to make transactions in the real world at millions of merchants."

PayPal first revealed the crypto spending feature last October. In the coming months, the company will expand the feature to non-U.S. users at its 29 million global merchants. PayPal will not charge any transaction fee to pay with crypto, and customers can only use one type of cryptocurrency for each purchase.

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The crypto checkout service comes in addition to PayPal's crypto buying and selling offering that the company launched last October. PayPal's social payments platform Venmo is also set to provide the crypto trading feature this year, as The Block reported previously.

Last month, Schulman revealed that PayPal is "significantly investing" in its crypto unit to help shape a more inclusive future.


This story has been updated to include PayPal's official announcement link.

About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.