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PayPal Told EU It Had Crypto Plans Back in March
PayPal had previously declined to say whether it had any designs in the crypto space; the letter from early March appears to confirm it.
By Paddy Baker
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:30 a.m. Published Jul 14, 2020, 2:32 p.m.
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Payments giant PayPal told the European Commission earlier this year it is actively working in the cryptocurrency space.
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- PayPal detailed in a March 20 letter – that appears to have been published in June – to the European Commission it had taken "unilateral and tangible steps" in the crypto space.
- Sources told CoinDesk in June that PayPal was planning on rolling out cryptocurrency buying and selling services but the company declined to comment at the time.
- PayPal's letter, advice on how the European Union can better regulate the emerging asset class, said that it believed cryptocurrencies could address "pain points" in the financial system.
- The San Jose, Calif., company, which says it has 300 million active users worldwide, said it joined Facebook's Libra Association in mid-2019 to learn about crypto and blockchain; it left the Association that October.
- The payments giant recommended the European Commission ensure crypto-related activities come under the scope of the bloc's existing anti-money laundering regulation.
- It also said future European regulation should remain technologically neutral.
See also: PayPal’s Financial Crimes Division Is Seeking a Blockchain Expert
See the full letter below:
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