The Venmo logo is displayed on a smartphone.
Pavlo Gonchar | Images SOUP | LightRocket using Getty Images
PayPal’s Venmo mobile payment app will allow users to buy, hold and sell digital bitcoins and bitcoin, potentially a significant step towards transferring cryptocurrencies to the mainstream.
Starting Tuesday, Venmo will show users a new feature that will allow them to invest in four different cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoins in cash, with a minimum spending of $ 1. They can also share their crypto purchases with friends through Venmo’s social channel.
The development expands into an initial PayPal move to allow users to purchase cryptography through its main platform. More recently, the company began allowing people to use its shares in cryptography to pay millions of its online merchants worldwide.
With more than 70 million users, Venmo is one of the most popular digital payment services in the United States. It is particularly popular among young Americans who use the app to make payments or share purchases with friends and family. Compete with Square’s Cash app.
“No matter where you are on your cryptocurrency journey, Crypto at Venmo will help our community learn and explore cryptocurrencies on a trusted platform and directly on the app they know and love,” said Darrell Esch, senior vice president and director general Venmo.
Esch added: “Our goal is to provide our customers with an easy-to-use platform that simplifies the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies and demystifies some of the common questions and misconceptions consumers may have.”
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have risen in price in 2021 thanks to the interest of institutional investors, while major companies such as Tesla and PayPal have also made significant moves in the space. Tesla bought bitcoin worth $ 1.5 billion earlier this year and now accepts it as payment for its cars.
Meanwhile, PayPal has been increasing its investments in cryptography. Last month, the payment giant said it had agreed to buy Curv, a start-up that helps customers store their digital tokens securely, for about $ 200 million. It has also established a new blockchain-focused business unit, which Curv is expected to join.
Venmo said its encryption feature was developed in partnership with blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos, which PayPal has also used for its other digital asset initiatives. PayPal received a license to participate in cryptographic activities from New York regulators last year.
While bitcoin bowls see it as a value similar to gold, not everyone is convinced of the impressive resurgence of digital currency: it previously plunged to $ 3,122 in 2018 after rising to nearly $ 20,000 a year previous. Skeptical economists see Bitcoin as a bubble waiting to burst.