Coinbase has added the option for users to buy cryptocurrency using their PayPal accounts in the US, the company has announced. It says the feature offers a “familiar and trusted” experience for users buying any of the numerous cryptocurrencies that the exchange currently supports, and using PayPal as an intermediary means you don’t have to give your bank account or debit card information directly to the cryptocurrency exchange. The feature will expand to other countries in the coming months.
To use the new option, Coinbase says you can add your PayPal account via the “Add a payment method” option, which links to the PayPal login screen. Purchases made via PayPal are capped at $25,000 a day, or 0.46 Bitcoin as of this writing. Debit cards and bank accounts linked to a PayPal account can be used to buy cryptocurrencies, but a Coinbase FAQ notes the feature doesn’t support payment methods like prepaid cards or credit cards.
The news is part of PayPal’s broader trend towards embracing cryptocurrency. In November last year, the company started letting US users buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies directly from their PayPal accounts, and this year it rolled out the option for users to pay with cryptocurrency held in their PayPal account (though this is converted to local currency before a merchant is paid). PayPal currently only supports four cryptocurrencies natively — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash — compared to the dozens available on Coinbase.