PayPal launches “Checkout with Crypto” to let you pay online merchants with cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies are taking another step towards global adoption. In a move that could significantly boost the use of digital assets in everyday commerce, PayPal announced Tuesday launches “Checkout with Crypto” to enable PayPal customers in the U.S. to checkout with cryptocurrency alongside other payment methods in the PayPal wallet.

The news comes almost five months after the payment giant announced the plan to allow all eligible U.S. users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly with PayPal. With over 29 million merchants, the new service could prove pivotal in helping boost the global adoption of cryptocurrency.

In a news release, PayPal said the new “Checkout with Crypto” will significantly expand the utility of cryptocurrency. The feature is available at millions of global online businesses and continuing to expand over the coming months, PayPal customers with cryptocurrency holdings in the U.S. will be able to choose to check out with crypto seamlessly within PayPal at checkout.

PayPal said Building on the ability to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency with PayPal, customers using Checkout with Crypto can check out safely and easily, converting cryptocurrency holdings to fiat currency1 at checkout, with a certainty of value and no additional transaction fees. Checkout with Crypto will automatically appear in the PayPal wallet at checkout for customers with sufficient cryptocurrency balance to cover an eligible purchase.

“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, while continuing to offer PayPal customers choice and flexibility in the ways they can pay using the PayPal wallet,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO, PayPal. “Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies.”

PayPal also said the new service will offer business customers a way to checkout with cryptocurrency, without any additional integrations or fees required by the business. All transactions will also be settled in USD and converted to the applicable currency for the business at the standard PayPal conversion rates. Checkout with Crypto offers customers the ability to sell cryptocurrency through PayPal to then pay a business for select online purchases in one seamless checkout flow.

“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 while continuing to offer PayPal customers choice and flexibility in the ways they can pay using the PayPal wallet,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO, PayPal. “Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies.”