San Francisco-based bitcoin exchange and wallet provider Coinbase (also known as GDAX) has surpassed 4 million registered users worldwide. The company has now integrated PayPal to support bitcoin sell orders and added credit card purchasing options, significantly broadening its reach in the digital currency ecosystem.
Strategic Integration with PayPal
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.” The service initially launched in beta for US users, with plans to expand to additional countries and eventually enable bitcoin purchases via PayPal.
PayPal has been cautiously moving into the bitcoin space. In December 2015, the multinational payment processor filed a patent for cryptocurrency integration within its applications. This collaboration with Coinbase marks a concrete step in that direction.
Beta Testing and User Onboarding
The new feature is currently in beta, and Coinbase will invite more users over the coming weeks alongside international expansion. Users can test the integration by visiting the payment methods page on Coinbase’s website or navigating to “Settings” then “Payment Methods” on iOS or Android.
Coinbase has grown significantly since its 2013 milestone of selling $1 million worth of bitcoins per month. According to CEO Brian Armstrong, the service now stores approximately 10% of all bitcoins in existence. The company encourages user feedback via its Community Forum and reaffirms its commitment to bitcoin, despite also showing support for the Ethereum protocol.
Ethereum, Smart Contracts, and Future Outlook
Co-founder Fred Ehrsam wrote in a recent Medium post that bitcoin’s scripting language is “too restrictive,” but noted that after the DAO debacle, “dumb contracts” may be the safer path. Coinbase plans to support Ethereum on its GDAX exchange and cover a range of digital assets. Ehrsam emphasized that he has “not given up on Bitcoin, and it’s hard to argue with a network that has been so resilient.”
Coinbase states on its website: “Bitcoin is changing how we use and think about money,” and considers itself “one of the most trusted companies in the space.” This integration with PayPal underscores its commitment to making digital currency accessible to a broader audience.