PayPal has never been afraid of offering alternative funding and payment options – and then taking them away again if and when they don’t work out. Long term PayPal users will remember when the withdrawal of money to your bank account took 3 working days and so PayPal introduced a bright yellow prepaid debit card. This allowed select users the ability to spend their PayPal balance via their new bank card and avoid the need to wait to access their money. However, now that withdrawals are pretty much instant in most cases the card dwindled in popularity and now it doesn’t seem to be something that they offer at all.
PayPal and Bitcoin
In order to keep up with customer demand, PayPal in the US has opened up its e-wallet to work with Bitcoin. This allows people to buy and sell Bitcoin directly via the PayPal app – and even have the ability to check out on certain websites using their Bitcoin currency. It will come as no surprise to anyone that digital currency is big business and such; perhaps it isn’t too much of a surprise that
PayPal wanted to make sure they had a slice of the pie too!
There are many people that like the idea of dabbling in Cryptocurrency or wanting to know more about how it works but have been afraid to sign up to a different platform or dubious to know what digital currency platform they should use. Being able to use their existing PayPal account makes it a much safer bet for those that are unsure. The fact that you can buy Bitcoin in amounts as little as $1 has helped to make it much more accessible to those that aren’t professional investors. It is worth noting that in the US PayPal also allows people to buy and sell Ethereum and Lite Coin, in a nod to the fact that Cryptocurrency is certainly becoming more popular and mainstream across the board.
Cryptocurrency is still somewhat of a learning curve for many people – and of course, there are no guarantees that any investments made will be successful. In fact, over recent months Bitcoin has had its fair share of ups and downs; largely depending on what news stories have been broken about the digital currency. For example, when Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that people could use Bitcoin to pay for their Tesla, the value of the Cryptocurrency increased. However, when he backtracked on this and cited the impact that digital currency has on the environment to be the reason the value went back down again. All Cryptocurrency has the ability to go both up and down and over the last 30 days, the value of Bitcoin has bounced between around $29,000 to over $36,000 – as further proof that anything goes when it comes to digital currency.
At the moment, in the eyes of PayPal, the digital currency is a strong one. They have even recently taken steps to make it more accessible and make moves such as raising purchasing limits. This would show that they are pretty set on allowing Bitcoin buying and selling on its platform, at least for the time being. That said, we know that digital currency is still somewhat new and therefore, what the next 20 years look like is anyone’s guess.
What About Other Industries?
There is no denying that other industries are also starting to pay attention to Cryptocurrencies and recognising the importance of offering it as an option to their customers. One of the industries that have been quick off of the mark in this respect is the gambling industry. Online casinos are definitely an industry that needs to keep up with customer demand in order to make sure that they stay ahead of the competition – and digital currency is just one way that they have made this happen.
Casinos that accept Bitcoin and other digital currencies have been slowly on the rise over recent years and now there are more of them than ever. This is great news for countries where gambling transactions are frowned upon because it means that online betting is accessible without having to worry. Of course, the added security in using cryptocurrency on a range of platforms like PayPal casinos also helps. PayPal is a great way of being able to purchase something online without having to share too many of your financial details with a company – great for purchasing something from a new retailer or one you are unsure about. The fact that this now allows you to have the added peace of mind of doing this while spending your Bitcoin really helps.
Investing in Bitcoin with PayPal
Of course, it is worth bearing in mind that the Bitcoin market is volatile and therefore any value of the digital currency you hold can decrease at any time. Whether you’re using PayPal or any other platform to buy your Bitcoin you should always do your own research and make sure you’re making the best financial decision for you and your needs. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t invest in Bitcoin as a novice, and PayPal certainly makes it easy to do this. It just means that you should pay attention to the market and understand exactly what you’re getting into before you commit to investing any amount of money into digital currency. Yes, PayPal makes it incredibly easy in the US to buy and sell Bitcoin, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something that you should go into with your eyes closed.
As yet there has been no announcement about whether the ability to buy and sell digital currency via PayPal will be extended to other countries, however, if it continues to prove popular in the US then there is a good chance it will be.