PayPal Reveals Massive Cryptocurrency Holdings Worth $604 Million. Here’s what you need to know
PayPal, a global payment giant, had $604 million worth of cryptocurrency for customers as of the end 2022. Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for nearly 90%.
PayPal had $291 million in BTC and $250 million in ETH. Another $63 million was held in Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and another $63million in Bitcoin Cash. According to the annual report To the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
At the end 2022, the company’s crypto holdings were $604 million. This is a decrease from the $690 million it had in September. This is due to plunging cryptocurrency prices and a decrease in user trust following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
PayPal’s crypto holdings, which account for 67% the company’s total financial obligations, amount to $902million as of December 31. According to the filing, the company had more than $25 billion in financial assets.
In October 2020, PayPal launched a service that allows U.S. customers to purchase and sell certain cryptocurrencies. Since then, the company has expanded the service to the UK and plans to expand internationally.
This is the first time that the payments giant has provided a breakdown of its crypto holdings. Previous The company’s annual financial report didn’t disclose crypto assets. PayPal stated in the filing that they felt the need for the breakdown of its crypto assets due to recent developments within the industry. It stated:
“Due to the unique risk associated with cryptocurrency, including legal and regulatory risks, it is necessary to recognize a crypto asset protecting liability in order to ensure that crypto assets are safeguarded for the benefit our customers.”
PayPal explained that customers’ digital assets are stored by third-party custodians. PayPal stated that the custodian must legally segregate customer assets from proprietary or other assets.
“We can’t be sure that these contractual obligations, even when observed by the custodian will be effective in preventing such asset from being treated under bankruptcy or any other insolvency law.”
Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, is presently in charge. revealed Last week, Schulman announced that he would be leaving the company at the end of the year. Schulman will still be a member on the PayPal board. He has been at the helm of online payments company since its separation from eBay in 2015.
PayPal had to also take measures to reduce costs in the face of the current market turmoil. The company recently received a major cost reduction. It has cut its workforce by 7% (or around 2,000 employees) as part of an ongoing effort to “strengthen and “reshape,” in a “challenging micro-economic environment.”