PayPal Reports Significant Increase in Crypto Holdings with $320M Boost in Latest Quarter

PayPal has reported $1 billion in cryptocurrency holdings in its most recent quarterly earnings filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The fintech holds $499 million in bitcoin, $362 million in ethereum and $82 million in bitcoin cash and litecoin. The firm’s quarterly revenue rose by 10% to $7 billion while adjusted profits rose to $1.17 per share compared to 88 cents the previous year. PayPal has entrusted the custody and safekeeping of its cryptocurrency holdings to third-party trusts including Coinbase Custody and Gemini. Its acquisition Venmo allows users to send bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash and litecoin to other users as well as PayPal wallets.
However, PayPal’s operating margin expansion forecast has been reduced from 125 to 100 basis points, and its shares have fallen 5% in late trading. The firm faces competition from Apple, which leaders believe is taking market share, and the impact of high interest rates on low-income customers limiting expensive purchases. Meanwhile, Stripe allows crypto companies to purchase cryptocurrency with fiat and Mastercard is exploring the next use case for blockchain technology. Visa has partnered with Circle to offer stablecoin transactions on credit cards.