Payment powerhouse Paypal has revealed that it holds approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency assets in a Form 10-Q financial report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This information follows Paypal’s recent disclosure that Venmo now enables external transfers of cryptocurrencies to wallets and exchange platforms.
Paypal’s Crypto Assets Exhibit Robust Growth In First Quarter
According to Paypal’s most recent quarterly earnings report, which was submitted to the SEC, the payments juggernaut is holding a sizable amount of bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH). As of March 31, 2023, Paypal’s cryptocurrency holdings were $82 million in “other” cryptocurrencies that the firm supports, in addition to $499 million in Bitcoin and $362 million in Ethereum. Interestingly, Paypal’s cryptocurrency holdings have increased by a stunning $339 million since December 31, 2022, when the value of digital currencies was far lower.
Currently, Paypal supports bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, and litecoin, and for some custodial services, it relies on reputable third parties. Paypal’s solutions, as detailed in their 10-Q filing to the SEC, include the safekeeping of customers’ cryptographic key information and safeguarding of their crypto assets from theft or loss.
The filing also stated that the crypto assets of Paypal’s customers are held by a third-party custodian in a custodial account under the name of Paypal for the customers’ benefit. The payments company’s quarterly report further elaborated on these solutions.
Following the announcement by Venmo, a subsidiary of Paypal, that it will accept external transfers to wallets and exchange platforms comes the company’s most recent quarterly report. Following its initial support for digital assets in 2021, Paypal itself spotted an increase in cryptocurrency usage in June 2022 and rolled out external transfer functionality in the same month.
In particular, a cash-back-to-crypto reward system is provided by both Paypal and Venmo, providing users with an additional incentive to commune with the world of cryptocurrencies.
