PayPal exec says payments giant is working on crypto withdrawal capability

A PayPal executive said Wednesday that the payments giant is working to allow its customers to withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings.

Speaking at CoinDesk's Consensus 2021 virtual conference, Jose Fernandez da Ponte — a PayPal vice president and general manager for blockchain, crypto and digital currencies — said during an interview:

“We want to make it as open as possible, and we want to give choice to our consumers, something that will let them pay in any way they want to pay. They want to bring their crypto to us so they can use it in commerce, and we want them to be able to take the crypto they acquired with us and take it to the destination of their choice."

The timing of any withdrawal feature launch is unclear at this juncture.

PayPal partnered with crypto startup Paxos last year to enable crypto purchases for its customers on PayPal and Venmo, and in late March began to allow customers to spend their crypto. 

As The Block previously reported, PayPal has held exploratory talks around a potential stablecoin, according to industry sources. According to CoinDesk, da Ponte said: "This is way too early."