PayPal CEO Believes Digital Currencies are on Track for Mainstream Adoption

Dan Schulman, the CEO of PayPal Holdings Inc., is optimistic that digital currencies will gain more traction in the coming years, as more people are switching to digital payment methods for transactions. Probably, this could be one of the reasons behind the company’s move into the cryptocurrency space. Interestingly, PayPal users have been showing massive interest in cryptocurrency services, especially Bitcoin (BTC).

World’s Digital First Approach Will Favour Cryptos

Schulman made his thoughts known on Wednesday during a Web Summit conference. He explained that the “entire world is going to come into digital first.” Many shops and merchants are increasingly changing to using smartphones, QR codes, etc., to receive payments from buyers. Even customers are beginning to use digital wallet services, all of which naturally “complements to digital currencies,” Schulman said.

PayPal first announced plans to debut buying and selling services for popularly-traded digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. A few weeks later, the services were debuted for the United States customers, which was considered a milestone for the Bitcoin market. Many people had speculated that the development triggered the bullish runs in the market since September.

Already, the digital payment platform has been recording increased demand for Bitcoin since the service rolled out. Last week, Crypto New Australia reported that PayPal and Cash App bought more than 100 percent of newly-mined Bitcoin. As a confirmation of the growing demand for Bitcoin on PayPal, a recent survey conducted by Mizuho Securities found out that one-fifth of the company’s users have already traded Bitcoin.

For context, PayPal reportedly has about 350 million users on its platform.

Who is PayPal’s Biggest Competitor?

PayPal’s CEO said Ant Financial is their biggest competitor in the market. The company accounts for the highest mobile-payments in China. Schulman said that Ant Financial holds a strong reputation and success in the country. They also provide a comprehensive digital wallet to the Chinese users, which features “all elements of financial services, all elements of shopping.”