Venmo is jumping aboard the cryptocurrency bandwagon.
The social payment service announced on Tuesday that its customers can now buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies within the Venmo app.
Four cryptocurrencies are currently supported: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. The app will also provide videos and guides to help Venmo users understand crypto better. Finally, users will be able to share their crypto buys and sells through the Venmo feed.
To buy cryptocurrencies, Venmo users can click on “Crypto” in the top right menu. They’ll be able to buy using their Venmo balance, or a linked debit card or bank account, for as little as $1.
Venmo’s foray into crypto follows a similar move by PayPal (Venmo is owned by PayPal), which started allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in October 2020. Back then, PayPal announced it plans to expand its crypto offering to Venmo, as well as internationally, in the first half of 2021.
Venmo says it conducted a consumer behavior study in 2020 and found out that 30% of its 70 million customers are already purchasing crypto or equities.
“Our goal is to provide our customers with an easy-to-use platform that simplifies the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies and demystifies some of the common questions and misconceptions that consumers may have,” Darrell Esch, Venmo SVP and GM, said in a statement.
Venmo is rolling the new crypto features gradually, starting today. They should be available to all customers “within the next few weeks.”
Disclosure: The author of this text owns, or has recently owned, a number of cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH.