Payments giant PayPal has announced it will be rolling out its crypto service to the UK market this week. Meanwhile, 81% of financial execs think blockchain has gone mainstream, according to a Deloitte survey.

It’s yet more extremely bullish institutional news, which may be playing a role in Bitcoin (BTC) pushing above US$50K for the first time in three months ($50,300, up 2.25%, at the time of writing).

The PayPal move is the first expansion of the company’s crypto offerings outside of the US, where the company first began dipping its toe into the water in October 2020.

British PayPal users will be able to buy, hold (or HODL if they’re getting serious) and sell four cryptos at this stage: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). They’ll be able to make transactions for as little as £1 (AUD$1.90).

The new service rollout includes a “terms apply” caveat, which simply boils down to KYC (Know Your Customer) eligibility, meaning users must verify their identity in order to partake. PayPal business accounts are not being supported at this time.

According to PayPal UK announcements, the crypto setup process will begin this week and the service should be available to users within the next few weeks.

Downplaying this news just slightly, however, it should be remembered that PayPal has still not yet provided its users with the ability to move their crypto holdings off the platform.

However, while speaking at Coindesk’s Consensus 2021 conference in May, PayPal’s Vice President and General Manager of Blockchain and Digital Currencies, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, did have this to say:

“We want to give choice to our consumers, something that will let them pay in any way they want to pay. They want to bring their crypto to us so they can use it in commerce, and we want them to be able to take tht crypto they acquired with us and take it to the destination of their choice.”

It seems like withdrawal functionality for PayPal’s crypto dealings is in the works, so stay tuned for that announcement, possibly before the end of the year.

 

And the Deloitte survey says… crypto has gone mainstream

Meanwhile, a new survey from the “Big Four” auditing firm Deloitte & Touche, suggests that 76 per cent of finance execs believe digital assets will either act as a reliable alternative to, or completely replace, fiat currencies in the next five to 10 years.

It’s the firm’s annual global blockchain survey, released a few days ago on August 20, in which it received responses from more than 1,000 finance professionals from nations including: Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the US.

Some other key findings from the survey include… 

• 81% of respondents agreed that the technology is “broadly scalable and has achieved mainstream adoption”.

• 73% thought their business would. “lose an opportunity for competitive advantage if they don’t adopt blockchain and digital assets”.

• 80% think their respective businesses will see new revenue streams emerge from blockchain and crypto.

• 65% consider existing financial infrastructure among the biggest obstacles to accepting digital assets.

• 63% believe cybersecurity is another barrier, and 60% viewing regulatory obstacles as one of the biggest hurdles for blockchain and crypto.

• 43% reckon their business may adopt cryptocurrencies as a payment option, and 45% would tokenise their assets.

• 44% said crypto would allow their institution to access DeFi (decentralised finance) solutions.

 

 

Read MoreBitcoinCryptocurrency

You might be interested in