PayPal Told EU It Had Crypto Plans Back in March

Published on by Coindesk | Published on

Payments giant PayPal told the European Commission earlier this year it is actively working in the cryptocurrency space.

PayPal detailed in a March 20 letter to the European Commission it had taken "Unilateral and tangible steps" in the crypto space.

Sources told CoinDesk in June that PayPal was planning on rolling out cryptocurrency buying and selling services but the company declined to comment at the time.

PayPal's letter, advice on how the European Union can better regulate the emerging asset class, said that it believed cryptocurrencies could address "Pain points" in the financial system.

The San Jose, Calif., company, which says it has 300 million active users worldwide, said it joined Facebook's Libra Association in mid-2019 to learn about crypto and blockchain; it left the Association that October.

The payments giant recommended the European Commission ensure crypto-related activities come under the scope of the bloc's existing anti-money laundering regulation.

It also said future European regulation should remain technologically neutral.

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