TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
PayPal allows US shoppers to make cryptocurrency purchases
The payments giant had already let users buy, sell or store digital money, but the new Checkout with Crypto feature provides an option to use it for purchases.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Buying iZettle will expand PayPal's reach into shops in Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. (Shutterstock/File)
P
ayPal on Tuesday began allowing people in the United States to use cryptocurrency to make purchases from millions of merchants that use the financial platform for online transactions.
The payments giant had already let users buy, sell or store digital money, but the new Checkout with Crypto feature provides an option to use it for purchases.
"As the use of digital payments and digital currencies accelerates, the introduction of Checkout with Crypto continues our focus on driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies," PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman said in a blog post.
"Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies."
Merchants get paid in standard money, with PayPal converting cryptocurrency to US dollars to settle transactions at the time of sale, according to the Silicon Valley-based company.
Tesla last week began officially accepting bitcoin as currency to purchase electric autos, according to a tweet by chief executive Elon Musk.
"You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin," Musk said on Twitter, implementing a plan announced in February to accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
Near 2115 GMT, one bitcoin was valued at $58,721.
