Coinbase will now allow users to buy cryptocurrency with their PayPal accounts.
This move, which was announced on Thursday, is a major signal of crypto’s increasing mainstream acceptance. It’s also a major expansion in Coinbase’s funding rails.
Buying Crypto Should Be Easy
“Buying crypto should be simple and easy,” Coinbase said in a blog post announcing the partnership. “However, moving money in the traditional world of finance can be anything but.”
We're now offering customers in the US a simple and speedy way to buy crypto on Coinbase using PayPal. We’re now one step further in bringing everyone easy and secure access to the cryptoeconomy. Learn how here: https://t.co/WxveJ8cGd6
— Coinbase (@coinbase) April 29, 2021
To use Paypal on Coinbase, users will select Paypal as a payment method when buying cryptocurrencies. They will then be taken to a Paypal login screen. Coinbase explained:
You can make a purchase up to $25,000 a day with your Paypal account.
Besides allowing Paypal as a funding source, “customers in the U.S. can buy crypto with a connected bank account via ACH or wire transfer, a debit card, [or] funds in their Coinbase USD wallet.”
Coinbase added: “In the coming months, we’ll expand the ability to purchase crypto using funds from Paypal to more countries. Cash withdrawals to Paypal are already available in the US, Canada, EU and UK.”
To use the new option, Coinbase says you can add your PayPal account via the “Add a payment method” option, which links to the PayPal login screen. Purchases made via PayPal are capped at $25,000 a day, or 0.46 Bitcoin as of this writing. Debit cards and bank accounts linked to a PayPal account can be used to buy cryptocurrencies, but a Coinbase FAQ notes the feature doesn’t support payment methods like prepaid cards or credit cards.
Coinbase has provided U.S. customers with PayPal sell functions since 2016 and withdrawal capabilities since late 2018. It expanded the option to much of Europe two months later. Cash withdrawals are live in the U.S., U.K., European Union and Canada.
Related article | One Week After Listing, How is Coinbase’s COIN Doing On Nasdaq?
The News Comes After Crypto On Venmo
The news comes after PayPal’s peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app, Venmo, announced earlier this month that it is now offering its approximate 77 million users a direct path into the cryptocurrency world. The app allows users to purchase, sell, and keep digital currencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. Users can convert their digital currency into fiat to complete transactions with its 29 million global merchants using its Checkout with Crypto app. PayPal has confirmed that there will be no fees charged at the time of purchase.
Paypal itself also offers the buying, selling, and holding of select cryptocurrencies. In addition, the company launched a “checkout with crypto” service allowing users to spend their coins at millions of merchants. However, unlike with Coinbase, Paypal’s terms of service state that “You will not be able to transfer crypto assets from your cryptocurrencies hub to another cryptocurrency wallet.”
Related article | Venmo, PayPal, Cash App: Who Is Next To Support Bitcoin, Crypto
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