PayPal recently took a huge step forward by introducing a crypto checkout addition to their platform, leaving PayPal users excited about its entrance into the digital asset space. The company received a highly positive response towards their decision, leaving banks feeling threatened. The reason behind PayPal’s bold move is that digital assets are here to stay, and the faster companies and banks adapt to them, the better chances they have of excelling.
PayPal aims to transform cryptocurrency into a concrete form of payment rather than just a means to invest. The bold move taken by PayPal plays an immense role in institutionalizing crypto as a legitimate asset and creating positive awareness regarding its long-term sustainability.
PayPal’s move poses a threat to banks’ bread and butter
With nearly 50 million Americans holding Bitcoin, the chances of banks not accepting cryptocurrencies but still being the ‘go-to option’ are pretty low. However, banks fear that the rise in cryptocurrencies is temporary and will fade away, and hence are hesitant towards making the bold move of offering crypto financial services.
As PayPal allows its users to securely buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies through its platform, it establishes itself as a secure and trusted brand for safeguarding digital assets. It had been a while since PayPal turned towards such a long-term strategy.
The following strategy will definitely continue to increase PayPal’s user base because as crypto continues to gain fame, people are more inclined towards accounts where they can receive financial services of both fiat and digital currencies together. If banks fail to accept digital assets, they might be in for a loss of customers.
Square is another payment company that has recently put in extensive efforts towards adapting to cryptocurrencies and facilitating digital transactions on its platform. The efforts did not go to waste as the company reported that during the year 2020 alone, over three million users bought and sold cryptocurrencies on their application.
Square not only has a solid user-base, but the payment company is evolving at a fast pace, acting as another threat to banks alongside PayPal. According to expert predictions, the transformation of payment companies into a new breed of banks was bound to happen and is a natural evolution.
However, banks will have to hop on to the bandwagon and adapt to the entrance of cryptocurrencies alongside fiat currencies if they want to match PayPal, Square, and similar payment companies.
Keeping in mind PayPal’s large user-base paired with the convenience offered through their application, it only makes sense that people will prefer it over traditional banks once the platform begins to offer full-fledged financial services. The transition doesn’t appear far from happening, and the acceptance of digital assets was only the first step to something revolutionary started by PayPal.
