Updated 14 May, 2021

PayPal Crypto Demand Soared in the First Quarter

PayPal Crypto Demand Soared in the First Quarter

Key Takeaways:

  • Demand for digital assets higher than anticipated, according to CEO Dan Schulman
  • PayPal vows to continue to expand its presence into the digital asset space in Q3

Digital Assets’ Demand Higher Than Expected

PayPal Holdings Inc. reported its best-ever quarterly financial results in the quarter ended March. Dan Schulman, PayPal’s CEO, revealed that the payment company had witnessed demand for digital assets that far exceeded expectations.

“We’ve got a tremendous amount of really great results going on tactically with our cryptocurrency efforts right now. And we’re excited about those,” Mr. Schulman said during the earnings call with shareholders. He praised the company’s work toward entering the digital space and assured the platform will continue to develop ways for customers to use cryptos in their lives every day.

“We expect to roll out our next-generation digital wallet in Q3,” the CEO detailed, while also adding, “over the coming year, we will accelerate our customers’ digital engagement through the rapid innovation of our digital wallet and merchant commerce platform.”

Paypal’s Quarter 1 Report Shows A Shift In The Digital Economy

PayPal’s first-quarter earnings report, according to Dan Schulman “demonstrate sustained momentum in our business as the world shifts into the digital economy.” He adds that the target market for PayPal “continues to grow” as the company launches new products and services for the 392 million active users.

The payment giant generated $6.033 billion of revenue for the period from January through March. Mr. Schulman praised the results by saying this is the “strongest quarter ever with record financial and operating results.”

During the first quarter, PayPal reported total payment volume of $285bn, while it added 14.5 million net new active accounts.

PayPal currently doesn’t own any bitcoin or cryptocurrencies on their balance sheet. In contrast, Square, the company behind the payment platform Cashapp has converted about 5% of its cash into Bitcoin. MicroStrategy is another example of a mainstream company that has adopted the digital currency. The software company holds roughly $5bn in Bitcoin. And Tesla, the electric vehicle maker, ploughed $1.5bn of its cash reserves into Bitcoin in February.