Global payments provider PayPal Holdings Inc has announced that it will allow customers in the United Kingdom to buy, sell and store Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.

Crypto Services Are Coming To PayPal’s UK Customers

As of this week, UK users of one of the world’s largest payments systems will be able to buy, sell, and hold the four different cryptocurrencies on its platform. These users can purchase as little as £1 (equivalent to $1.37) using their bank accounts, debit cards via a cryptocurrency tab on PayPal’s website or the mobile app, the company said on Monday.

The launch is the first expansion of the payment giant’s crypto service outside the United States. The rollout begins today and will be fully available to all eligible customers within the coming weeks.

In a statement, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, VP of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies emphasized the firm’s dedication to ensuring regulatory compliance.

“We are committed to continue working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce.”

PayPal And Crypto Adoption

PayPal first launched its crypto offering in the US in October 2020 but officially added crypto payments in March. The company’s feature dubbed “Checkout with Crypto” enables users to spend their crypto assets on merchants around the globe that accept PayPal. Notably, PayPal converts the crypto to fiat at the time of sale. Still, in March, PayPal acquired Israeli-based crypto custody firm Curv, indicating that it wished to expand its features in the near future. 

In April, the payments giant unveiled crypto trading on its subsidiary, the Venmo mobile app.

PayPal was initially lambasted owing to the fact that its crypto plan came with so many limitations. At the time, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse even described the offering as “two steps forward and one step back”, arguing that the payments firm had disregarded the fundamental benefits and tenets of cryptocurrencies.

However, da Ponte hinted in May that customers could soon be able to withdraw their crypto assets to off-site third-party wallets.

Suffice to say, PayPal has become one of the most active mainstream financial behemoths in the crypto space. The company’s decision to adopt crypto marks broader mainstream adoption of the nascent asset class.