Global payment giant PayPal">PayPal has been granted approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer cryptocurrency services in the United Kingdom. The FCA register indicates that PayPal has been registered to provide “certain crypto asset activities” in the UK since October 31, 2023.
However, there are certain requirements and restrictions placed on PayPal’s financial services activities. These include the prohibition of onboarding new customers and limiting existing customers to hold and sell functionality. The FCA register also states that PayPal cannot expand its current offering in crypto assets, which encompasses crypto exchange services, participation in initial coin offerings, staking, peer-to-peer exchange, and decentralized finance activities like lending and borrowing.
PayPal is reported to be the fourth firm to receive the FCA’s crypto registration in 2023, following Interactive Brokers, Bitstamp, and Komainu. This license acquisition comes shortly after PayPal temporarily paused its UK customers’ ability to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in early October. The company had previously stated that it was working towards compliance with new regulations in the country.
The United Kingdom has been increasingly emerging as a prominent cryptocurrency economy. According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis in October 2023, the UK has the highest raw transaction volume for cryptocurrencies in Central, Northern, and Western Europe. Additionally, London was ranked as the world’s most crypto-ready city for business in February 2023, according to a study conducted by the crypto tax platform Recap.
With this approval from the FCA, PayPal will be able to further expand its cryptocurrency services in the UK, tapping into the growing demand for digital assets in the country.
