PayPal on Wednesday, October 21, announced it would launch a new service that would let users buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal accounts.

The company is also planning to make cryptocurrency a possible funding source for online purchases.

PayPal said it would initially feature Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin for this purpose in the US. The service is enabled in the US through a partnership with Paxos Trust Company, a regulated provider of cryptocurrency products and services.

It also has plans to “expand the features to Venmo and select international markets in the first half of 2021.”

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said of the endeavor, “The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly.”

Schulman added, “Our global reach, digital payments expertise, two-sided network, and rigorous security and compliance controls provide us with the opportunity, and the responsibility, to help facilitate the understanding, redemption and interoperability of these new instruments of exchange. We are eager to work with central banks and regulators around the world to offer our support, and to meaningfully contribute to shaping the role that digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce.”

The company added it would give account holders educational content to better understand cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, as well as the risks and opportunities related to cryptocurrency investments.

It added there would be no service fees when buying or selling cryptocurrency through December 31, and no fees for holding cryptocurrency in a PayPal account. – Rappler.com