coincodex.com
Key highlights:
- PayPal-owned Venmo is rolling out cryptocurrency buying and selling functionality
- At launch, Venmo supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash
- Venmo has over 70 million users
Venmo now supports crypto buying and selling
Popular payments app Venmo now gives its users the option to buy or sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. The new functionality is also accompanied by videos and guides designed to help Venmo users on their cryptocurrency investment journey. Users can also share their crypto investing activities via Venmo’s social feed.
Venmo’s crypto buying and selling feature is made to be as accessible as possible, as users can get started with a purchase as small as $1.
At the moment, it appears that Venmo users can’t send cryptocurrency between each other, as the functionality is limited to buying and selling crypto. Similarly to PayPal’s crypto offering, it looks like cryptocurrency can’t be deposited to Venmo or withdrawn from the app to external crypto wallets.
Venmo’s base of almost 70 million users is already quite comfortable with investing, as around 30% have already purchased cryptocurrency or equities, according to a survey by the company.
Darrell Esch, SVP at Venmo, commented on the company’s decision to introduce cryptocurrency functionality:
"Our goal is to provide our customers with an easy-to-use platform that simplifies the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies and demystifies some of the common questions and misconceptions that consumers may have."
While the news is certainly positive for the prospects of cryptocurrency adoption, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. Venmo is owned by PayPal, which has been supporting cryptocurrency buying and selling since October last year, and the company made it clear that it was also going to bring crypto functionality to Venmo.
Venmo offers its cryptocurrency investing features through a partnership with Paxos, the New York-based cryptocurrency services firm that is also used by PayPal. According to the company, cryptocurrency buying and selling will be available to all its users "within the next few weeks".