PayPal announced that it will launch its cryptocurrency service in the United Kingdom to allow customers in the country to buy, hold and sell digital currencies, starting this week.
This launch will mark the first international expansion of PayPal’s crypto product, which was first unveiled in the U.S. in October last year.
“It has been doing really well in the U.S.,” Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s general manager for blockchain, crypto and digital currencies. “We expect it’s going to do well in the U.K.”
PayPal’s crypto feature lets customers buy or sell bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, or litecoin for as little as £1. Users can also track crypto prices in real-time, and find educational content on the market.
Like the U.S. version of the product, PayPal is relying on Paxos, a New York-regulated digital currency company, to enable crypto buying and selling in the U.K. PayPal said it has engaged with relevant U.K. regulators to launch the service.
PayPal says its foray into crypto is about making it easier for people to participate in the market. “The tokens and coins have been around for a while but you had to be a relatively sophisticated user to be able to access that,” da Ponte said. “Having that on a platform like ours makes a really good entry point.”
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest digital currency, hit a record high of nearly $65,000 in April before tumbling below $30,000 in July as Chinese regulators extended a crackdown on the market. It has since recovered to a price of over $50,000.
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