Key Insights:

• PayPal’s Cryptocurrencies Hub revolutionizes crypto trading for select users.
• Visa develops a solution for direct gas fee payments via cards.
• Payment giants’ crypto involvement sparks debates on centralization risks.

The global payment giant has rolled out a new service called Cryptocurrencies Hub, enabling a select group of users to hold, trade, receive, and purchase BTC and other altcoins within their PayPal accounts. This move comes after the company announced the upcoming launch of its stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD).

A New Era of Crypto Trading on PayPal

PayPal’s new service enables users to hold, trade, and buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with their wallets. However, it’s essential to understand that you’re not holding digital coins or tokens when you acquire cryptocurrency via PayPal. Instead, you’re purchasing a record that signifies your ownership of those coins or tokens. Essentially, the balance in your Cryptocurrencies Hub reflects your ownership stake in the respective Crypto Assets, but you won’t possess the actual digital Crypto Assets in your Crypto Asset balance.

PayPal’s Cryptocurrency Hub (Source: PayPal)

Users can buy and sell, swap PYUSD for other digital currencies, and tap into market insights and content. Yet, some functionalities are reserved for those who fulfill particular requirements, including having both a personal and balance account in commendable status, residing in sanctioned areas, and presenting authenticated identification.

More KYC in Crypto

Users wishing to access PayPal’s Cryptocurrencies Hub must submit their date of birth, name, taxpayer ID, and physical address. This data ensures identity verification and adherence to anti-money laundering rules. Regrettably, the service isn’t available to those residing in Hawaii.

Payment Giants Eye Crypto Solutions

PayPal’s move into the crypto space is part of a broader trend of payment entities integrating cryptocurrency into their services. Mastercard and Visa are also developing solutions allowing users to pay gas fees with traditional payment methods.

Visa is reportedly crafting a method that enables users to cover ETH gas fees using their Visa cards. This innovative solution will leverage ETH’s ERC-4337 standard and a paymaster smart contract. When users initiate an ETH transaction from their wallets, it’s directed to the paymaster. This entity then determines the gas fee and invoices Visa through Cybersource. Subsequently, the paymaster swiftly authenticates and appends a digital signature to the transaction before routing it to ETH. Upon verifying the signature, the paymaster settles the gas fee, sparing users from having to compute the necessary ETH for the fee.

The Double-Edged Sword of Payment Giants in Crypto

The involvement of payment giants in the crypto space has the potential to bring legitimacy and credibility to the industry. Their participation could help attract more mainstream adoption and investment and improve the usability and accessibility of cryptocurrencies for everyday use.

However, there are concerns that payment giants could stifle innovation in the crypto space. They could use their market power to control the price of cryptocurrencies or censor transactions. Additionally, some worry that payment giants could eventually dominate the crypto space, leaving it centralized and controlled by a few big players.

In conclusion, PayPal’s foray into the crypto space with its Cryptocurrencies Hub and PYUSD stablecoin is a significant development. However, it remains to be seen how this will impact the broader crypto industry and whether it will lead to more mainstream adoption or centralization.