PayPal Makes Secretive Crypto ‘Steps’

Payments giant PayPal confirmed that it has taken “unilateral and tangible steps” to “develop its capabilities” in the cryptoasset area.

In a letter to the European Commission (EC), dated March 2020, the company did not elaborate on these steps, taken since the inception of Facebook‘s Libra. In 2019, PayPal initially signed a non-binding letter of intent to participate in the Libra Association but left the project in the same year.

The letter is a response to the EC’s public consultation on building an EU framework for markets in cryptoassets.

The company also said that it “continuously monitoring and evaluating global developments in the crypto and blockchain/distributed ledger space.”

“Of particular interest for us is how these technologies and cryptoassets can be utilized to achieve greater financial inclusion and help reduce/eliminate some of the pain points that exist today in financial services,” they said.

Further, the payments giant added that it “would be supportive” of a harmonized approach across EU markets on applicable licensing or authorization requirements.

“The regulatory framework should allow for innovative products and services to be brought to market without undue regulatory burden while simultaneously providing regulatory clarity, guidance, and safeguards,” the company said.

PayPal claims it has more than 300 million active accounts across the globe and serves customers and businesses in 31 European jurisdictions, representing about 95 million merchants and consumers. The news was first reported by The Block.

In June, rumors were circulating in the Cryptoverse after several anonymous sources claimed that PayPal is planning to offer buying and selling of cryptocurrencies directly from both PayPal and the PayPal-owned mobile payment app Venmo.