Paypal and Crypto - Is this anything?

[dualstow]

PayPal to Support Buying and Selling Select Cryptocurrencies
According to PayPal, users will also be able to 'instantly convert their selected cryptocurrency balance to fiat currency,' in order to use the virtual cash to buy real goods from PayPal merchants.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/paypal-to-su ... currencies

I saw this news when it came out, and may have put it in my sig line, but I don't see any threads on it.
This is interesting to me because I do use paypal. While I am not interested in holding bitcoin or any of that as speculative investing, it might be kind of fun to buy something in ethereum coins, and to do so within paypal's infrastructure.

(Second half of Subject line is an allusion to Seinfeld's new book)

[flyingpylon]

They have competitors doing it, so they have to keep up.

[Maddy]

Is that a taxable transaction?

[dualstow]

Is that a taxable transaction?

I don't know, but it's a fee-less transaction. There's a link to cryptocurrencies and taxes on that same page, below the article.

[Kriegsspiel]

It's no longer fee-free. So is Paypal a wallet where you keep "your" bitcoin, or do they hold it for you (and do things with it until you cash it out)?

[dualstow]

It's no longer fee-free.

ah, I see that. Changed with the new year. https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/art ... toComplete

So is Paypal a wallet where you keep "your" bitcoin, or do they hold it for you (and do things with it until you cash it out)?

Good question. I would be surprised if they didn’t mess with it like Blockrock(?) and tlt

[bitcoininthevp]

Paypal uses a company called Paxos for crypto stuffs:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambys ... 5178eb422d

"In October, payment giant Paypal launched a cryptocurrency trading service in partnership with Paxos, letting customers buy and spend bitcoin."

And yes any time you buy then sell a crypto it is a taxable event (as my understanding, not financial advice, etc).