PayPal customers increase crypto deposits to $943M PayPal customers increase crypto deposits to $943M
PayPal's latest Form 10-Q filing shows crypto deposits are up 56% - but how much relates to fresh deposits versus dollar value increases?
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Updated: May. 9, 2023 at 7:36 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
PayPal disclosed it holds $943 million in customers’ crypto assets, up 56% from the previous quarter.
The company enables users in some regions to buy, hold, sell, and pay for purchases using cryptocurrency. However, PayPal doesn’t have any cryptocurrencies on its balance sheet other than those belonging to its customers.
PayPal customers up their deposits
In its latest Q1 2023 Form 10-Q SEC filing, the online payments firm revealed that customers’ crypto deposits jumped from $604 million in the prior quarter to $943 million as of March 31.
The table below shows Bitcoin was the most popular in terms of current holdings and quarter-over-quarter percentage increase – spiking 71% to just short of half a billion dollars.
The pattern repeated, with the second-most held cryptocurrency, Ethereum seeing a 45% increase in deposits. While “Other,” consisting of Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, saw gains of plus 30%.
PayPal stated that the risks of accounting for cryptocurrency, including “technological, legal, and regulatory risks,” meant crypto assets are recorded as both a liability and an asset on their books.
Hodl
Last year was a tumultuous one for cryptocurrency, characterized by CeFi bankruptcies, particularly the FTX scandal.
Nonetheless, by the first quarter of 2023, the total crypto market cap saw a significant increase of 49%, rising from $796 billion on December 31st, 2022, to $1,183 billion on March 31st, 2023 – suggesting the market has recovered to a degree.
Without a detailed breakdown of PayPal customers’ holdings, it is unclear precisely how much of the 56% quarter-over-quarter increase in deposits relates to increased crypto holdings or the increase in dollar value over that period.
However, using the crude measure of a 49% increase in total market cap between quarters, it is probable that the majority of the increase relates to an increase in the dollar value of holdings – rather than a jump in customers’ deposits.
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Samuel Wan
Samuel Wan, a finance professional turned full-time crypto content creator, values individual autonomy and personal freedom in his pursuits.
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In this article
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Ethereum
$3,352.63
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Bitcoin Cash
$484.557
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency created via a fork of the Bitcoin network.
Litecoin
$88.6105
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world.
PayPal
PayPal is an American multinational financial technology firm that operates an online payment system in most countries that permits online money transfers and serves as an electronic replacement for conventional paper methods like checks and money orders.