PayPal reports strongest quarter in history, buoyed by crypto buying and selling

PayPal, in its first quarter 2021 earnings report, said it processed $285B in payments – a 50% bump year-over-year – and added 14.5 million net new active customers.

Why should we care?
PayPal positioned its growth as a result of the digital behavioral shift that took hold during the pandemic. “Customers across the world have clearly embraced the digital economy, and PayPal has become an essential platform for both consumers and merchants,” CEO Dan Schulman said. The company reported revenue was up 31% and net income growth of a whopping 1206% year-over-year. On cryptocurrencies, he said PayPal is seeing “really great results going on tactically” with its crypto efforts, which have been driven by the ability to buy, sell, and pay with cryptocurrencies on the PayPal platform. Half of PayPal’s crypto users open the app every day, the company said. Amid reports the company is planning to launch a stablecoin, Schulman said the company has engaged in conversations on this topic with various governments. PayPal’s crypto push comes as the path to crypto adoption among banks and other mainstream actors in the financial services sphere accelerates. This week, NYDIG, a technology and financial services firm dedicated to bitcoin for institutions, private clients, and banks, announced a partnership with banking technology provider FIS to allow bank customers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies. “We believe that digital assets that have a well-defined offering that is also highly regulated should be part of each bank’s ecosystem rather than just a standalone solution offered by various fintechs,” Rob Lee, FIS head of Global Core Banking and Channels, said in a statement.