Annual PayPal settlements would circle around $ 1.2 trillion at current trends. PayPal joined the bitcoin wave and has worked with crypto assets on its platform for an entire year.
Money transfers in 2021 from the market’s leading cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), moves around $ 12.6 trillion. The figure is currently more than five times higher than last year.
This information got revealed by the firm Galaxy Digital, led by entrepreneur and BTC enthusiast Mike Novogratz. Via Twitter, they presented a graph that reflects the entire network’s performance during 2010 and to date, in terms of money transfers.
The analytics company took advantage of the report to make various contrast between the activity of Bitcoin and that of giant financial companies such as PayPal. The internet payments giant moved through its platform at least USD 936 billion during 2020.
In the first half of this year, payments made and money transfers made via Paypal slightly surpassed USD 600 billion, as required.
According to the payments company’s data based in the third quarter, they marked at least 24% year-on-year rise in their settlements, for a total figure of payments of USD 310 billion.
Assuming that in the last quarter of this year, the money also moved through PayPal in the order of USD 300 billion, so the annual settlements through this platform would be around USD 1.2 billion. This situation means that at least ten times more money gets moved via Bitcoin than through PayPal.
For Dan Tapiero, institutional investment advisor and bitcoin hodler, the numbers displayed by Galaxy Digital explain what, in his words, is “hyperbitcoinization.” He considers it is still early for this currency; the moon is still waiting for bitcoin.
PayPal Joined the Bitcoin Fever
Paypal is aware of the massive industry around bitcoin and cryptocurrencies; it also considers the money these financial tools move.
The company (founded in 1998, among others, by Elon Musk) decided to integrate the sale of crypto assets on its platform. Since November 2020, users of this payment way can purchase, sell, and keep in custody BTC and other digital assets in Paypal.
However, PayPal intends to expand its cryptocurrency features and services to Latin America, given the increasing use of these assets by the inhabitants of these regions.
The director of PayPal for Latin America, Federico Gómez Schumacher, highlighted that this part of the world has significant potential, especially to achieve money transactions between countries in the form of remittances.
The director said they see significant potential in allowing cryptocurrencies in PayPal Latin America because they facilitate money transactions between countries. He warns that it is more helpful in places with restrictions to receive money.
The director also added that there must be a well-defined regulation because these things have to happen within a correct regulatory framework. He also explains that this regulation is the way to protect all the actors involved in the transactions.
Currently, PayPal in the United States of America allows its users to receive and save four cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. This year the platform also enabled making payments with these assets. So far, in the rest of the world, the platform only allows trades with fiat currencies, such as dollars and euros.
By: Jenson Nuñez
