Any user of PayPal Holdings' (PYPL 3.53%) services can now conduct their business in cryptocurrencies. The company said Thursday that all eligible account holders are now able to buy, sell, and hold some of the most popular ones. Initially, this means bitcoin, Etherium, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
Users can transact the cryptocurrencies through the company's namesake app. PayPal said this functionality would also be made available through its popular personal transaction app Venmo starting next year. The company will also roll it out in unspecified international markets.
These moves come a month after the company said it would bolt crytocurrency capability onto its PayPal app. Shortly afterwards, the company offered it in a limited rollout prior to Thursday's wide release. Demand for cryptocurrency transacting was heavy, though, with CEO Daniel Schulman saying in an earnings conference call with analysts that "our base is very eager for us to offer these capabilities."
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Partially as a result, the company has raised its cryptocurrency purchase limit from $10,000 per week to $20,000.
While many banks and financial services companies have either pledged to offer some form of cryptocurrency transacting functionality for their clients, current offerings are piecemeal and scattershot. In late 2017, for instance, PayPal rival Square rolled out such a service to selected users of its Square Cash app. It continues to maintain that service.
While cryptocurrencies are not quite the hot financial item they were several years ago, investors in the technology and users of it abound. Many non-financial companies have utilized the blockchain technology underlying cryptocurrencies for other purposes, such as inventory management.
On Thursday, PayPal's share's fell by 1.6%, a steeper fall than the 0.3% slide experienced by the S&P 500 index.
