According to cnFOL, PayPal (PYPL.US) announced the expansion of its cryptocurrency services, allowing merchants for the first time to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies through their business accounts. This new move will align PayPal's merchant services with the functionalities already provided to consumers, further solidifying PayPal's position in the digital currency field.

Since 2020, PayPal has been supporting consumers to trade cryptocurrencies through PayPal and Venmo accounts, and launched the stablecoin PayPal USD pegged to the US dollar, demonstrating its deep exploration and commitment to the digital currency field. Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies at PayPal, pointed out that the company understands users' demand for cryptocurrencies through these services and found that business owners also want their customers to have the same functionalities.

While merchants could already accept cryptocurrency payments through services like BitPay and Coinbase Commerce, PayPal's entry is expected to further drive the application of cryptocurrencies in the commercial sector. It is worth noting that this new merchant feature from PayPal will not be available in New York State upon the initial launch. In addition, businesses will be able to transfer digital currencies to eligible third-party wallets and support token sending and receiving with external blockchain addresses.

Through these new features, PayPal not only provides merchants with more flexible cryptocurrency management options but also may promote the adoption of cryptocurrencies in a wider range of commercial transactions. This signifies another important step taken by PayPal in supporting digital currency innovation, while also positioning the company favorably in the global financial technology sector competition.

It is worth mentioning that Vishal Gupta and Patrick McCreary, former executives of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN.US), have previously announced their collaboration to launch an innovative cryptocurrency trading platform - TrueX. This new platform will use the stablecoin PYUSD issued by PayPal as the primary trading currency.

It is understood that Gupta was the director of the exchange at Coinbase and was responsible for overseeing the issuance of the USDC stablecoin at Circle Internet Financial Ltd. McCreary, on the other hand, was a senior engineer at Coinbase, and both have prior experience working at Goldman Sachs.

PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin is designed to maintain a 1:1 exchange rate with the US dollar and serves as a bridge currency both inside and outside the cryptocurrency ecosystem, as well as a hedging tool against price fluctuations of digital tokens. TrueX Exchange will initially be open to investors in the USA and some international institutions.