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PayPal Expands Crypto Offerings with MoonPay Integration
Online payments giant PayPal is expanding its cryptocurrency offerings, joining forces with cryptocurrency firm MoonPay to offer its more than 426 million customers access to over 100 digital assets.
MoonPay believes it will help avoid the kind of banking hurdles some users have encountered with cryptocurrency purchases.
“Often, cryptocurrency purchases fail when users attempt to use their debit cards directly due to certain banking restrictions,” a MoonPay spokesperson said. “MoonPay’s partnership with PayPal offers a solution, significantly increasing the success rate of crypto transactions, even when using the same debit card.”
MoonPay added that PayPal customers will be able to purchase cryptocurrency without having to separately provide their personal or card details to MoonPay.
PayPal customers were previously able to purchase Bitcoin (Bitcoin), Ethereum (ET), PayPal USD (PYUSD), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). With the MoonPay agreement customers will also have access to Solana (SOL), Bind (USDT), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC) and more.
According to MoonPay, US customers in all 50 states will be able to purchase cryptocurrency on the MoonPay platform using their PayPal account balance, direct bank withdrawal, or debit card, all without having to manually enter those details.
As of today, 50% of US users can access the PayPal integration, the company said.
MoonPay promoted greater flexibility and choice, a variety of token support, seamless onboarding, and convenience.
“Unlike other solutions that limit PayPal purchases to PYUSD or ETH, users with a PayPal account can buy and sell over 110 different cryptocurrencies through MoonPay,” the company spokesperson added.
MoonPay said it uses a multi-faceted approach to operate within the law, including IP checks, blockchain monitoring and a robust KYC process.
“MoonPay takes its commitment to compliance and regulations seriously, and maintaining bank-wide compliance controls is one way to demonstrate that commitment,” the MoonPay spokesperson said.
PayPal first announced plans to bring cryptocurrency to the platform October 2020.
“We are pleased to announce that all eligible PayPal account holders in the United States can now buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly with PayPal,” the company said at the time, adding that payments will be converted to fiat at the point of sale.
In April 2021PayPal has added cryptocurrency purchasing options to its social payments platform Venmo, followed by a UK launch in August 2021.
While PayPal initially prevented customers from transferring their digital assets off the platform, PayPal began allowing users to transfer Bitcoin and Ethereum to external wallets in June 2022.
By Ryan Ozawa.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to remove an incorrect reference that banking rules are no longer a barrier and to clarify the platform on which users can purchase cryptocurrency through this partnership.