PayPal will temporarily ban crypto sales on October 1 and aims to restart it in early 2024.
The company made the move because of new regulations passed by the U.K. FCA.
Online payment giant PayPal is making changes to its platform in the UK so that it is in line with local financial legislation. In order to comply with new rules, PayPal notified on August 16 that it is temporarily halting the capacity for its U.K. clients to acquire cryptocurrencies.
A spokesperson for PayPal UK stated:
“PayPal customers who currently hold crypto can keep it on our platform at no charge and are also able to sell their currency at any time.”
PayPal said in an email to certain of its U.K. clients that it will temporarily ban crypto sales on October 1, 2023, and aims to restart it in early 2024.
Stringent Compliance
According to PayPal’s announcement, the company made the move because of new regulations passed by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that mandate further measures be taken by crypto businesses before customers may acquire crypto.
In recent years, PayPal has become one of the most prominent venues for transacting in cryptocurrencies. In early August, it launched a stablecoin called PayPal USD (PYUSD) in an attempt to compete with other cryptocurrencies. After then, the company added a crypto hub feature to its user dashboard. In 2020, PayPal first introduced its cryptocurrency service to the American market.
The FCA has stated that just 13% out of 291 applications for crypto licenses have actually been registered with the regulator since 2020. As of October 2023, the FCA has mandated that all companies dealing in crypto assets verify that their advertising practices are in line with the financial promotional framework in the United Kingdom.