(Reuters) – PayPal Holdings Inc. is unlikely to buy cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, payment processor John Rainey’s chief financial officer told CNBC on Thursday.
“We probably won’t invest in corporate cash in some kind of financial asset like this, but we want to capitalize on this growth opportunity that’s ahead of us,” Rainey said in a CNBC interview.
PayPal said in October that it would allow US customers to hold bitcoin and other virtual currencies in its online wallet and buy cryptocurrencies from merchants in its network.
Earlier this week, Mastercard said it plans to support some cryptocurrencies in its network this year. The asset manager BlackRock Inc and the payment company Square Inc also recently supported cryptocurrencies.
Rainey said PayPal wanted to invest its money in services the company currently offers, such as buy now, to pay later.
Buy now, pay later services flourished on retail sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people turned to online shopping.
PayPal’s comments come amid a bitcoin frenzy after Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla Inc, revealed that it bought $ 1.5 billion in cryptocurrency and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars. , sending the price of digital currency higher.
Following the Tesla announcement, several companies came out with their opinions.
Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the carrier discussed and “quickly rejected” the idea of investing in bitcoin. However, he added that Uber could potentially accept cryptocurrency as payment.
Twitter Inc. said it is still undecided on owning bitcoin, while General Motors Co. said it will assess whether bitcoin can be accepted as payment for its vehicles.
Reporting by Aishwarya Nair and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta