Venmo, the PayPal-operated peer-to-peer mobile payments app, has begun support for crypto – allowing users to buy, sell or hold bitcoin (BTC) and other coins – marking another leap forward into crypto for PayPal.
PayPal has previously stated that it was looking into crypto pay adoption solutions for Venmo, and it appears to have come good on these claims, stating, in a press release, that its new services would allow customers to “buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly” on the Venmo app “with as little as USD 1.”
PayPal said the services were “beginning” to roll out today to its customer base, which it claims is 70 million+ strong.
The firm said the crypto buying and selling function “will be available for all customers directly in the Venmo app within the next few weeks.”
The operator also claimed that some 30% of its users are already crypto holders, and that 20% of this number began investing in coins during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to BTC, the platform will also support ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH). PayPal said it had partnered with the Paxos Trust to help power the new innovation.
A new crypto menu has been added to the Venmo app, which will allow users to buy or sell tokens using funds they hold on the app – or via linked bank accounts or credit cards.
PayPal claimed that its move was evidence that it was “furthering” its “commitment to educating its customers on the potential of digital currencies as they continue to grow and drives understanding and utility of cryptocurrencies on a mass scale.”
