Coinbase, the popular bitcoin exchange and wallet service (also known as GDAX), has reached a milestone of 4 million registered users worldwide. The company has now integrated PayPal for bitcoin sells and added credit card purchasing options, further expanding its reach in the digital currency ecosystem.
Details of the Integration
In a blog post, Coinbase stated: “One of our objectives at Coinbase is to add as many funding mechanisms as possible to make exchanging digital currency easy. As a step in that direction, Coinbase now accepts PayPal (for Bitcoin sells) and credit cards (for Bitcoin buys). Thousands of Coinbase users use PayPal for their fiat currency transactions around the world. Through this integration, Coinbase users are now able to sell BTC and have their USD funds deposited to a PayPal wallet.” Initially, the PayPal cash-out feature is available only for US users. The company plans to expand support to other countries and eventually enable Bitcoin purchases via PayPal.
The feature is currently in beta. Coinbase will invite more users over the next few weeks alongside international expansion. Users can test it by visiting the payment methods page on the Coinbase website or tapping “Settings” and then “Payment Methods” on the iOS or Android app.
PayPal's Gradual Crypto Moves
PayPal has been slowly exploring the cryptocurrency space. In December 2015, the multinational payment processor filed a patent for cryptocurrency integration within its applications. This collaboration with Coinbase represents one of PayPal's first tangible steps into actual bitcoin transactions, albeit limited to sells for now.
Coinbase's Growth and Commitment
Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, Coinbase has grown rapidly. In 2013, the company sold a record $1 million worth of bitcoins per month. Today, according to Armstrong, Coinbase stores roughly 10% of all Bitcoin in existence. Despite showing support for Ethereum and planning to list it on GDAX, Coinbase remains deeply committed to Bitcoin. Fred Ehrsam noted in a Medium post that while he initially found Bitcoin's scripting language restrictive, the DAO debacle has reminded the community of the value of simpler “dumb contracts.” He wrote: “I have not given up on Bitcoin, and it’s hard to argue with a network that has been so resilient.”
Coinbase emphasizes its role as one of the “most trusted companies in the space” and encourages user feedback on the new PayPal integration via its Community Forum. The company concludes: “Bitcoin is changing how we use and think about money.”