If you're intimidated by bitcoin, payment applications want to assist you. Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App have all introduced cryptocurrency purchasing to their popular payment services, bringing Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital currencies to investors who may be intimidated by jargon-filled exchanges and a plethora of digital wallets. However, such convenience comes at a cost that can eat into profits.
Payment apps are popular because they make it easy for users to shop online or split checks with pals using their phones. Additionally, the apps are intended to be enjoyable, with some integrating emoticons and digital stickers on transaction notes. Venmo is so widely used that even Vice President Joe Biden is said to use it to send gifts to his grandchildren.
Additionally, the apps familiarise users with the process of purchasing bitcoin, which might be intimidating for some potential investors due to exchanges' requirement of separate accounts and frequently difficult registration and transaction processes. Additionally, the payment apps eliminate the need to comprehend digital wallets, a branch of cryptocurrency that has the potential to develop into its own research topic.
However, the convenience of purchasing cryptocurrencies via payment apps comes with a cost. Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App bind you to a transaction charge that may be lower if you shopped around at many exchanges. And, unlike exchanges, PayPal and Venmo keep your cryptocurrency until you choose to sell it through the same app.
Despite its limitations, the presence of bitcoin on payment apps may help the general public gain confidence in financial assets shrouded in complex mathematics and widely linked with unlawful internet activity. (A new Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded fund that began trading this month, analysts think, will also assist broaden acceptance of digital currency.)
"It's an excellent training wheels experience," said David Siemer, CEO of Wave Financial, a cryptocurrency-focused asset management firm.
Venmo and its parent company PayPal, which Elon Musk co-founded, accept Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies. Cash App, which is owned by Square, now only supports Bitcoin, the world's largest and most extensively used cryptocurrency. (Square is led by Jack Dorsey, another bitcoin advocate and Twitter's CEO.)
PayPal and Square, both publicly traded firms, declined to comment on this article since they were due to release their quarterly earnings reports, which are legally prohibited from speaking with the media.
Over the previous decade, cryptocurrency has grown in popularity. Ten years ago, when Bitcoin – the initial cryptocurrency – was trading about $15, digital currencies were commonly regarded as the currency for online drug purchases. Bitcoin is currently trading about $63,000. Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, said on Monday that he will accept a percentage of his pay in Bitcoin via the Cash App. AT&T and the Dallas Mavericks accept Bitcoin as payment, and you can also use it to purchase Amazon, Delta, and DoorDash gift cards. Facebook is attempting to establish a cryptocurrency called Diem in collaboration with a group of partners. El Salvador has welcomed Bitcoin as a national currency, but with some hesitancy.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now readily available through trading websites and stock trading applications such as Robinhood. ATMs accepting cryptocurrencies have proliferated throughout the world, albeit they typically charge exorbitant fees. Through a cooperation with Coinme, Coinstar machines, which allow users to convert leftover change into gift cards at merchants such as Walmart, may now also distribute Bitcoin. Coinbase and BitPay, for example, offer cryptocurrency-backed debit cards.
Despite their increasing appeal, researchers argue that bitcoin services in payment applications are best viewed as introductory investing platforms where beginners can purchase cryptocurrency and become accustomed to its volatility. Serious investors, on the other hand, are likely to find them limiting in comparison to specialist cryptocurrency exchanges, which also allow for the loaning of funds to produce returns.
For a price, cryptocurrency owners can lend their holdings to the exchange or other users via exchanges like BlockFi or Celsius, or peer-to-peer lending systems like LendaBit and BtcPop. The activity is not without risk; crypto lending poses unresolved regulatory issues, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is probing a select few exchanges. Additionally, you may compare exchange rates and utilise them to exchange one type of cryptocurrency for another.
Nonetheless, Square has witnessed an increase in customer interest when it added Bitcoin buying and selling capabilities to the Cash App in 2018. The business, which is best known for assisting merchants with card payment processing, generated $97 million in 2020 from Cash App fees on Bitcoin sales. It has already generated approximately $130 million in revenue during the first half of 2021. PayPal does not disclose the percentage of revenue generated by transaction fees on bitcoin sales made through its own app or through its subsidiary, Venmo.
By purchasing Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency using PayPal, you are allowing the corporation to hold your cryptocurrency. The same is true for Venmo. Cash App provides other services, such as sending and receiving Bitcoin and storing it in users' personal wallets, although it charges a fee if customers wish to withdraw their coins instantly. Withdrawal will be attractive to users who wish to begin buying and selling cryptocurrency on other exchanges, which is not possible through the payment app.
Entrepreneur and business consultant Athan Slotkin believes the characteristics are beneficial if they draw new investors to cryptocurrency. However, he said that the majority of users will not learn much about cryptocurrency if they stick to a single app. The best method to learn is to join forums and online communities on Twitter and Discord, and to experiment with some minor exchange transactions.
"You sort of have to fall down the rabbit hole on your own," Slotkin explained.
Simplifying the process of purchasing and selling bitcoin has the potential to increase interest in Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies, analysts say. If the features attract a sizeable number of new cryptocurrency purchasers, the additional demand may boost the value of the cryptocurrency. However, with scant statistics on the number of transactions occurring on these apps, it is unclear whether this is the case.
Payment apps will need to incorporate wallets and exchanges to truly engage users in cryptocurrencies, analysts say. A simplified method for purchasing, trading, saving, and lending cryptocurrencies might attract more users and deter them from seeking flexibility elsewhere, according to Corey Barrett, an analyst at M Science.
"It would pique the interest of a segment of the cryptocurrency investor base that was previously uninterested until they gained that functionality," Barrett explained.