Shares of PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL,
have risen 1.2% in pre-market trading after BTIG analyst Mark Palmer updated shares to buy from neutral, citing the traction of the company’s cryptocurrency platform. PayPal announced in October that it would begin allowing users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin BTCUSD,
through the PayPal platform, and Palmer said Paxos, a private company that drives PayPal’s encryption efforts, “has seen its trading volumes increase dramatically in recent weeks.” He expects “the vast majority” of Paxos ’itBit cryptographic exchange volume to reflect business for PayPal customers, which led to his projection that cryptography could add up to more than $ 1 billion in annual revenue. PayPal in 2022. “Much more importantly, the traction observed in itBit’s increasing cryptographic volumes augurs well for the growth and active participation of the PYPL account,” he wrote. PayPal will also allow customers to make online purchases through their holdings in cryptocurrencies, which Palmer said would represent a lower-cost financing mechanism to PayPal compared to when people use their service to fund online purchases with their cards. of credit. “The result is that lower-cost financing associated with the use of cryptography in financing commercial transactions could provide a boost to its take-up rate and margins,” he wrote, setting a $ 300 price target. in actions. PayPal shares have risen 110% in the last 12 months as the S&P 500 SPX
has gained 16%.