Starting Today, 70 Million Venmo Users Can Buy and Sell BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH

The broader Venmo community now has access to an easy-to-use and intuitive crypto platform to help them take part in the cryptocurrency market. The launch of the feature furthers PayPal’s commitment to educating its customers on the potential of digital currencies as they continue to grow and drive understanding and utility of cryptocurrencies on a mass scale.

Crypto on Venmo Explained

Today, Venmo announced the launch of Crypto on Venmo, a new way for Venmo’s 70+ million customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly within the Venmo app. What’s great about this service is that you can invest in crypto for as little as $1.00! Crypto on Venmo made sense as the next step for PayPal after their public announcement of also integrating crypto.

Darrell Esch, SVP and GM of Venmo, suggests the new service will strengthen crypto’s user base:

“Crypto on Venmo is a new way for the Venmo community to start exploring the world of crypto, within the Venmo environment they trust and rely on as a key component of their everyday financial lives. No matter where you are in your cryptocurrency journey, crypto on Venmo will help our community to learn and explore cryptocurrencies on a trusted platform and directly in the app they know and love.”

Crypto on Venmo was created from PayPal’s partnership with Paxos Trust Company, a regulated provider of cryptocurrency products and services. PayPal was also granted a first-of-its-kind conditional Bitlicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), allowing PayPal and Venmo to offer its customers the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency. The NYDFS creating a new form of licensing for companies wishing to accept crypto transactions is an amazing milestone for the entire crypto industry at large.

What Can You Buy and What are the Fees with Crypto on Venmo?

Customers in the US (except Hawaii) can buy, sell and hold four different cryptocurrencies on Venmo: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. Venmo’s crypto fees are sourced from the spread between the market price received from the trading service provider and the exchange rate between US dollars and the crypto asset displayed to the user, and a transaction fee when buying or selling crypto assets. At the time you buy or sell crypto assets, Venmo will disclose to you the applicable exchange rate and the number of fees that you will be charged for that transaction.

The exchange rate may include an estimated spread of one-half of one percent (0.50%), provided, however, that the actual spread may be higher or lower based on market conditions. We will not separately calculate or disclose the spread we earn on each transaction.

Venmo Aims to Get Users Familiar with Crypto

Venmo is doing its part in teaching its customer base about crypto. They have created an attractive landing page and updated their FAQ to support crypto-related questions.

According to the 2020 Venmo Customer Behavior Study, more than 30% of Venmo customers have already started purchasing crypto or equities, 20% of which started during the pandemic. With over 70 million users, this equates to roughly 49 million users being exposed to cryptocurrency for the first time. 

Crypto on Venmo started to roll out on April 20th and will be available for all customers directly in the Venmo app within the next few weeks.

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What are your thoughts on Crypto on Venmo? Are you going to use it? Is it good or bad to see things like Bitlicense’s emerging for companies? Let us know in the comments!