PayPal Crypto News: PYPL Stock Pops as Users Get Ability to Transfer Cryptocurrency

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) crypto news is the talk of Wall Street today as PYPL stock closes a solid day in the market. PYPL stock closed up 2% after adding additional cryptocurrency functionality to its payment transfer platform.

Today, PayPal announced that it will now allow users to send certain crypto payments to external wallets. This development comes via a news release from Senior Vice President and General Manager Jose Fernandez da Ponte:

“We are thrilled to announce that starting today, PayPal supports the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges. This feature has been consistently ranked by users as one of the most requested enhancements since we began offering the purchase of crypto on our platform.”

As of June 7, eligible U.S. customers will be able to transfer supported cryptos into PayPal. They will also be able to move crypto from PayPal to external addresses “including exchanges and hardware wallets” as well as “send crypto to family and friends on PayPal in seconds, with no fees or network charges to send or receive.”

This move also allows PayPal customers to use crypto with “millions of merchants” on the platform. The change brings a suite of implications related to the increasing use cases of cryptos worldwide.

PayPal Crypto News Pushes PYPL Stock in Cold Year for Crypto

PayPal’s mild gains today come as something of a surprise, given the state of crypto lately. Most of the major cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD) are down substantially this year. BTC is down about 34% year-to-date (YTD). Crypto-related entities such as Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) have seen similar drops.

PayPal itself is also in the red this year, with PYPL stock currently down around 53% YTD. The company is likely another victim of a harsh tech stock trading environment which, given general crypto bearishness, paints an unfortunate picture for the payment provider.

Still, the company has taken increasing interest in crypto lately, which some investors once believed could be a hedge against inflation. PayPal recently became the first company to convert its conditional Bitlicense — issued by the New York Department of Financial Services — to a full Bitlicense. The company says it’s signaling its “commitment to responsible innovation and expanding the accessibility and utility of digital currencies while fully complying with regulatory guidelines and best practices.”

On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.