PayPal extending crypto transfers to more than 60 million Venmo customers

Quick Take

  • PayPal rolled out crypto transfers in June, now Americans using Venmo will be able to do the same.
  • Venmo customers can also transfer crypto to external wallets. 

Nearly a year after PayPal allowed users to transfer crypto between its platform and other wallets, the company is set to roll out a similar feature for its more than 60 million Venmo customers located in the United States.

Customers will also be able to transfer to a PayPal account and to external wallets and exchanges,” the company said in a statement. External wallets include PayPal customers.

In June of last year, PayPal began allowing users to send supported tokens like bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash and litecoin to external wallets. The move to open the service to tens of millions of Venmo customers starting next month comes at a time when the crypto industry as whole is being confronted with intense scrutiny in the U.S.

But do we trust it?

While two-thirds of Americans don’t trust crypto, according to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, it remains popular among millions in the U.S. The same survey said 17% of Americans had invested in or traded cryptocurrency.

Venmo processed $245.3 billion in fiat currency transactions in 2022, according to a recent PayPal earnings statement. 

RELATED INDICES

PayPal purchased Venmo in 2013.

(Updates with the timing of the roll out, which starts in May.)


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About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

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