Finance
Why PayPal’s Adoption of Bitcoin Is Making Cryptocurrency More Mainstream
Published by Wanda Rich
Posted on October 26, 2021
5 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
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Published by Wanda Rich
Posted on October 26, 2021
5 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePayPal's move to allow UK users to trade Bitcoin could push cryptocurrencies towards mainstream adoption, despite ongoing volatility concerns.
When PayPal announced on 23 August that it would allow UK users to buy and sell Bitcoin along with three other cryptocurrencies, the price of Bitcoin jumped to an all-time high of $49,533 on the same day.
Will PayPal’s move translate into mainstream adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as viable payment options for goods and services worldwide?
The Build Up to Adoption
PayPal is a payment solution giant with over 20years of experience in the financial industry. Presently, PayPal manages more than 400 million user accounts worldwide; hence its decision to allow its UK users to trade Bitcoin and three other altcoins right from their PayPal account was ground-shaking. Aside from buying, hodling, and selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin directly from their PayPal account, UK users won’t be able to use their Bitcoin to pay for goods and services.
However, PayPal users in the US can pay for goods and services with their Bitcoin balance wherever PayPal is accepted. Merchants accepting PayPal in the US will get their payments in dollars when a PayPal user pays for goods or services with Bitcoin right from his PayPal account. This move by PayPal takes away the risk of volatility associated with Bitcoin due to its speculative nature.
According to Carol Alexander, a Finance Professor at the University of Sussex, UK, ‘Cryptocurrencies are subject to speculation and organized manipulations; hence, organized groups (whales) can cause a wide swing in Bitcoin value by buying or selling. Due to Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, the influence of such organized groups cannot be regulated, unlike the traditional financial services whose activities are heavily regulated by established financial regulatory bodies. Therefore, the value of bitcoin can experience a sudden drop in value before converting it to a fiat currency. Based on this, Bitcoin may not go mainstream as a payment option until this is fully addressed.
Can this move by PayPal usher in Bitcoin as a mainstream currency?
Despite Bitcoin’s wide adoption as an investment tool (dubbed digital gold), It has seen little advancement as a mainstream payment option due to the inherently high volatility associated with it.
Bitcoin’s use as an investment tool has been a major stumbling block to it becoming a mainstream currency since most investors would rather buy and hold Bitcoin than trade it for goods and services.
If Bitcoin is to go mainstream, then people should be able to spend Bitcoin. More businesses, companies and corporations need to start accepting Bitcoin as a payment option.
Although Bitcoin is accepted as a mainstream payment option by retailers such as grocery stores, hardware stores, coffee shops, etc., in El Salvador, and few large corporations like Tesla and Microsoft accept Bitcoin as payment options, utilizing it as a payment option is no easy feat by those who accept it. This is about to change soon with PayPal’s decision to offer cryptocurrency services.
PayPal is a leading financial platform that has earned the trust of over 400 million users worldwide; hence it is a trusted household name that can take away the distrust people still have towards Bitcoin and its underlying technology.
This is a big boost for Bitcoin due to the distrust many have against Bitcoin and its underlying technology since PayPal has a wide level of acceptance and is considered as a credible online payment option by users worldwide. Hence, services like Disney+, Argos, Adidas, Aeria Games, Aeropost, FootLocker, etc., accept PayPal as a payment option, as evidenced by the display of PayPal’s trademark logo on their payment page.
For this reason, it is likely that most businesses accepting PayPal as a Payment option will most likely accept Bitcoin as a payment option for goods and services in the nearest future. This can be a big leap towards cryptocurrencies becoming a mainstream payment option that will likely help to reduce Bitcoin’s volatility. However, this might not happen soon until issues like large carbonIVoxide footprint due to high energy consumption, complexity, and volatility are completely addressed.
What’s in it for PayPal?
PayPal’s announcement to include Cryptocurrencies in its operations saw PayPal’s stock rising above 5%. This move is significantly driving up PayPal’s stock price, representing more gains for PayPal’s shareholders.
According to Simon Taylor, this move will attract more investors and new users who are cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It will also help PayPal adjust to a future of digital currencies, as revealed by the CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman, putting it at the forefront of facilitating transactions with government-backed Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Wrapping Up
With PayPal’s leading move, it is hopeful that cryptocurrencies will replace fiat money in the nearest future. This is evidenced as Bitcoin begins to experience wider adoption as a mainstream payment option for goods and services and as a cross-border payment solution.
Thanks to PayPal, Bitcoin is beginning to enjoy the trust of more individuals, businesses, and corporations as a mainstream payment option.
As a Cryptocurrency enthusiast make sure to keep up-to-date with all the latest financial news and recent Cryptocurrency trends in order to time your investments perfectly, Find out more here.
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The article discusses PayPal's adoption of Bitcoin and its potential impact on mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
PayPal's decision to allow Bitcoin trading could increase trust and lead to wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin's high volatility and speculative nature are major challenges to its mainstream adoption as a payment option.
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