Payments giant PayPal has revealed its intention to develop cryptocurrency-related “capabilities” following the announcement of Facebook’s Libra in June 2019. 

In a letter to the European Commission in March, PayPal said it was “assessing” the need for a European framework for cryptoassets that would support the integration of payments and financial services.  

PayPal said the crypto-asset industry had experienced substantial growth over the past few years and generated discussion about the impact of decentralization on central bank digital currencies.

The letter reads:

As such, PayPal is continuously monitoring and evaluating global developments in the crypto and blockchain/distributed ledger space. Of particular interest for us is how these technologies and crypto-assets can be utilized to achieve greater financial inclusion and help reduce/eliminate some of the pain points that exist today in financial services.”

The letter continues, claiming that PayPal has an interest in how cryptocurrency technology can be used to promote transparency and compliance efforts and would be supportive of the European Commission’s attempts to regulate the industry. 

PayPal revealed that it had taken “unilateral and tangible steps to further develop its capabilities” in the area of cryptocurrency since signing a letter of intent to participate in the Libra Association established in June 2019. 

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