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- 1 PayPal, the global payment giant, has halted crypto purchase offerings in the United Kingdom for the coming months.
- 2 The crypto purchase halt decision was taken in light of the new rules governing the country.
- 3 The current crypto holdings on PayPal will not be affected in spite of everything.
Payment giant PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) reported halting cryptocurrency buying offerings in the United Kingdom. The service is said to be unavailable from October this year until early next year. The recent move from the company came in the aftermath of recent regulatory development in the region.
In an email to the U.K.-based users on Monday, August 14, 2023, PayPal noted that they will not be able to purchase cryptocurrencies for the coming months. On the other hand, the selling and holding of cryptocurrency services will continue during this time.
The abrupt changes in the company’s offerings are due to the new rules from the financial regulator in the country.
PayPal cited the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) recent rules as the reason behind halting cryptocurrency purchases. The company asserted it would be necessary following the recent changes to bring “additional steps” for customers before they move ahead to buy crypto.
Regulatory Measures Intensifying in the U.K.
The financial regulator agency in the region reported to commence carrying out Crypto Travel Rule in September 2023. Following the rule in the act, cryptocurrency companies would need to gather transaction-related information including the involved parties.
Though the aforementioned is the recent update regarding the regulatory changes, it’s not clear if the payment services provider took action considering the changes.
In addition, FCA introduced new rules for crypto promotional activities intending better control over the advertisement of crypto assets to potential investors.
PayPal affirmed that the users’ crypto holdings over the platform will be safe and will not be hampered due to the immediate changes. However, there was no mention that the users could move their crypto assets to other wallets and exchange platforms.
With the apology for the inconvenience to the customers, it added that their holdings would not incur charges.
The changes in the payment company’s offerings are clearly due to regulatory changes. Yet, the regulations in the U.K. are relatively softer than in the U.S. as the recent past instances suggest.
Several prominent crypto companies in the United States fell prey to enforcement actions from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). It includes even major names such as Coinbase, Kraken, etc. The broader crypto community opposed the measures and alleged they could stifle the emerging industry’s growth.
PayPal recently brought native stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), an ERC-20 token based on the Ethereum blockchain network. Prominent stablecoin issuer Paxos is behind the issuance of stablecoin. The step was to enhance the cryptocurrency offerings and the existing payment services using PYUSD.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
