The filing stated that as of March 31, 2023, PayPal held $943 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) on its balance sheet. Of these assets, none belong to the company — all of it is owned by their customers.
Data indicates that customer crypto assets saw a significant increase in Q1 2021. Compared to the previous quarter, there was a $339 million rise, equating to 56%. This is largely aligned with the 72% surge of Bitcoin between December 31 ($16,547) and March 31 ($28,478).
PayPal currently has digital currency reserves worth $943 million, made up of $499 million in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) at $362 million, and the remaining $82 million in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). Not only are customers able to buy, sell and hold these specialized currencies, but PayPal allows them to use the proceeds from their cryptocurrency sales towards purchasing goods or services.
“We maintain the internal recordkeeping of our customers’ crypto assets, including the amount and type of crypto asset owned by each of our customers,”
PayPal has announced a measure to protect its customers from unauthorized cryptocurrency purchases and sales, as well as unauthorized crypto transfers of up to $50,000 over the customer’s lifetime. This represents a significant step forward in providing added security for those using the platform.
In June, the payments company began offering customers the ability to access crypto assets for personal use. At a 2020 web summit event, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman affirmed his bullish outlook on various cryptocurrencies and revealed that he had invested in Bitcoin. With this feature, more users can access the potential of digital currencies.
In March of 2022, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel highlighted that digital assets such as CBDCs, stablecoins, and digital wallets will have a significant impact on the financial world in the years to come. Previously, Thiel had noted Bitcoin’s potential to weaken the USD; however, his venture capital firm fully exited its crypto holdings in 2023 after 8 years of HODLing.
