PayPal users will be able to withdraw crypto to external wallets

Prior to Wednesday’s decision, PayPal users weren’t allowed to move their holdings off the platform.

PayPal’s embrace of cryptocurrencies appears to be growing after the payments provider revealed that it will allow users to withdraw their digital assets to third-party wallets. 

The news, which was reported by Reuters Wednesday afternoon, comes just seven months after PayPal first enabled crypto purchases on its platform. At the time, the decision was heralded as a major milestone in mainstream recognition of digital assets.

The Wednesday announcement means PayPal users will be able to send their cryptocurrencies to other wallets instead of just holding it on PayPal or selling it into fiat currency for withdrawal. However, neither Reuters nor PayPal has specified when the crypto withdrawal feature would be supported. If it’s anything like PayPal’s decision to enable cryptocurrency purchases last fall, the initial rollout of third-party wallets could be gradual and location-based.

PayPal’s embrace of crypto appears to be rooted in a clearly defined strategy that sees digital-asset use cases growing rapidly over time. As Cointelegraph previously reported, CEO Dan Schulman believes we will see a “tremendous decline in the use of cash” over the next decade, adding:

“All form factors of payment will collapse into the mobile phone. Credit cards as a form factor will go away, and you will use your phone because a phone can add much more value than just tapping your credit card.”

Earlier this month, Schulman also indicated that PayPal’s crypto business was already paying dividends for the company. “We’ve got a tremendous amount of really great results going on tactically with our crypto efforts,” he said.