- Paypal cryptocurrency trading volume in the US has hit 85% of Binance’s US subsidiary’s volume less than a month after allowing cryptocurrencies.
- The payment service provider has 346 million users worldwide.
- In response to Paypal allowing cryptocurrencies, the crypto-market has seen some gains with Bitcoin soaring past $16,000.
In less than a month, Paypal crypto-trading volumes have soared to 85% of Binance US, fuelled by American users.
Cryptocurrency trade volume at Paypal has hit 85% of the trading volume at Binance’s United States (US) subsidiary, Binance.US after allowing cryptocurrency trading on its platform last month.
Paypal, one of the world’s largest payment service providers, partnered with crypto-brokerage Paxos to allow users in the US to use its platform to buy, sell and hold a number of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC).
The daily volume on Paxos also saw a sharp increase since the launch from less than $5 million to $25 million on average per day compared to $30 million at Binance.US. Other US-based exchanges, however, still have daily trading volumes in excess of $500 million, so Paypal still has a way to go before it starts competing properly in the US market.
Justifying allowing cryptocurrency trading and storage on its platform, the payment services provider cites the increasing interest from governments and institutions around the world into things such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and alternative payment services such as Facebook’s Libra.
The move has been long-awaited by the crypto-community, who have historically had difficulties using Paypal to trade cryptocurrencies, with many facing chargebacks and account closures. Moreover, Paypal is used by many to make international payments as it makes the process speedy and straightforward.
They are not the only payment service provider that has entered the crypto space. The international payment giant has been a partner of remittance-tech start-up Ripple, which uses the Ripple protocol to speed up international transactions. Users also have the choice of using native crypto-token Ripple (XRP) instead of traditional fiat currencies to save costs.
With 346 million accounts in existence worldwide, Paypal’s entry will definitely make access to cryptocurrencies easier. And if the immediate market reaction (BTC rising past the $16,000 mark) is anything to go by, long term hodlers are very likely to benefit.
