PayPal Opens Crypto Payments for US Merchants
On July 2, 2026, PayPal announced a new payment option that allows small US businesses to accept over 100 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, through its online payments platform. The feature is available immediately to all US merchants using PayPal’s payment processing services. Customers can connect their existing bitcoin and crypto wallets at checkout, without needing a separate account. PayPal President and CEO Alex Chriss stated, “Businesses of all sizes face incredible pressure when growing globally, from increased costs for accepting international payments to complex integrations. Today we’re removing these barriers and helping every business of every size achieve their goals.”
Fee Structure and Settlement Process
PayPal has set a competitive fee structure: merchants pay a promotional rate of 0.99% per crypto transaction for the first year, after which the fee rises to 1.5%. According to the Nilson Report, the 2024 US average credit card processing fee was 1.57%, meaning PayPal’s rates are lower than the industry average throughout. For settlement, PayPal uses a two-step stablecoin conversion: the consumer’s cryptocurrency is exchanged into PayPal’s own stablecoin PYUSD via an integrated exchange such as Coinbase or Uniswap; PYUSD is then converted into US dollars and deposited into the merchant’s PayPal account. Merchants receive fiat currency (USD), shielding them from crypto price volatility.
PayPal’s Crypto Journey and Future Outlook
This merchant payment expansion is PayPal’s latest step in digital assets. The company first allowed users to buy and sell bitcoin in 2020, later added crypto features to Venmo, and scaled back during the 2022 crypto winter. With market recovery and a pro-digital-asset stance from the Trump administration, PayPal is now moving forward again. Just last week, PayPal launched PayPal World—a global partnership bringing together five of the world’s largest digital wallets on a single platform. Chriss added, “By enabling seamless cross-border crypto payments, we’re breaking long-standing barriers in global commerce. These innovations don’t just simplify payments—they drive merchant growth, expand consumer choice, and reduce costs. This is the future of inclusive, borderless commerce, and we’re proud to lead it.”