Cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer Europe has announced a partnership with PayPal to allow users to deposit euros using their PayPal accounts to purchase cryptocurrencies.
"PayPal is a dominant payment method in Europe"
Jacek Bastin, Business Strategy Manager of bitFlyer Europe, said in a public statement: “What we did was to integrate PayPal in the same way e-commerce sites would. The integration concerns the removal of entry barriers ”.
Furthermore, Bastin noted that the payment giant PayPal (PayPal shares) is a dominant payment method in Europe, with a market share of around 35%. "This collaboration represents a critical step for the cryptocurrency exchange as it allows crypto trading to be made more accessible to everyone, especially newcomers," he added.
Regarding how the integration works in practical terms, bitFlyer Europe users will be redirected to the PayPal website when selecting the payment method to deposit funds.
"The PayPal deposit process is smooth, secure and reliable, and users can be credited almost instantly," Bastin added. Currently, there are no cryptocurrency exchanges that allow you to deposit funds via PayPal accounts.
Andy Bryant, COO of BitFlyer Europe, commented “We are delighted to offer users the ability to use their PayPal accounts to deposit funds dedicated to the purchase of cryptocurrencies.
Thanks to the integration with PayPal, BitFlyer adds a new source of funding to its users. Thousands of BitFlyer users already use PayPal for fiat transactions. Now, users can buy bitcoin and other crypto currencies in the same way. "
PayPal's strategy in the crypto sector
PayPal is reportedly looking to offer encryption services through its app. As reported earlier this year, global payments giant PayPal is reportedly looking to enable direct cryptocurrency purchases for its millions of users.
The payment platform announced that it would allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly from their accounts. It also emerged that PayPal has hired crypto and blockchain experts.
However, it's unclear whether PayPal is partnering with other crypto exchanges for similar integrations. The exchange's partnership with PayPal, in fact, may not be the first in the entire cryptocurrency industry.
Additionally, PayPal payments are spreading on peer-to-peer exchanges such as LocalBitcoins and Paxful, although not as a direct integration on the platform. And one of the major US exchanges, Coinbase, currently only allows withdrawals to PayPal accounts.
PayPal was one of those companies that benefited most from the global financial crisis due to COVID 19. The second quarter of 2020 was the most profitable ever in the history of the group in terms of new accounts, as many as 21,3 million registered between April and June. BitFlyer Europe, launched in January 2018, is a wholly owned subsidiary of its Japanese parent company BitFlyer.
