Various anonymous sources exclude the possibility of PayPal’s negotiations to buy the Bitcoin custodian. The payment company could be exploring other acquisition possibilities in the industry.
PayPal may have abandoned one of the plans that it had already announced, amid its process of adopting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Recent, reports indicate that the payment company would no longer be negotiating the acquisition of BitGo, one of the custodians that has the largest amount of funds in Bitcoin under its protection.
Last October, plans to buy the Bitcoin custodian became known to Bloomberg. PayPal seems to have canceled the negotiations but no one knows the reasons why those talks collapsed, according to Fortune.
Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, did not want to confirm the rumors about the alleged acquisition by PayPal, according to that source. On the contrary, Belshe stated that his company has been “in talks with everyone” in recent years. He said that BitGo would not accept a “small exit”, but it is not yet clear whether that was the reason why its negotiations with PayPal stopped.
Since its founding in 2013, BitGo has offered the service of safeguarding funds in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to more than 300 companies. Among them, the Bitstamp exchange and Japanese bank SBI Holdings are the most prominent. Belshe himself has stated that the company currently has more than USD 16 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in its custody.
The number of institutional investors who have entered Bitcoin trading has steadily increased. This has led the companies that offer custody service for funds to receive more weight, according to Belshe.
Despite PayPal’s refusal to comment on the unsuccessful negotiations, an anonymous source close to the payment company could have confirmed that information. Also, that person added that PayPal could be looking for other options in the cryptocurrency environment.
PayPal Wins with Bitcoin and Bets Increasingly Strongly
After having announced its adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, in addition to the rumor about its possible acquisition of BitGo, the digital payment company has had greater revitalization in recent months.
PayPal shares have appreciated by about 20% since the news became public knowledge. Following its entry into service for customers in the United States in November, the momentum has been growing.
Even though the alleged negotiations with BitGo have fallen and they are looking for other alternatives, PayPal has strengthened its partnership with Paxos. The latter has been working with them for months to enable them to integrate buying, selling, and paying with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
In mid-December, the company participated in a financing round in which Paxos managed to raise a total of USD 142 million. In this way, PayPal shows that it is increasingly betting on its adoption of Bitcoin, a possibility that it had denied for years.
By Alexander Salazar
