PayPal’s head of blockchain and crypto, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, announced that Paypal and Venmo users will be able to send bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to one another and to other apps.

Why should we care?
The move marks the latest evolution of PayPal’s crypto offerings. The company recently rolled out capabilities to buy and sell crypto within Venmo and PayPal apps. The latest announcement takes that further because users will be able to send each other cryptocurrencies and ferry cryptocurrencies to platforms outside of PayPal’s ecosystem. At an industry conference, da Ponte said PayPal wants customers to “be able to take the crypto they have bought with us and take it to the destination of their choice.” PayPal is increasingly moving cryptocurrencies to the mainstream of its financial services offerings. In an April interview, CEO Dan Schulman said demand for crypto offerings has been multiple-fold compared to what the company initially expected. He has also expressed enthusiasm for crypto’s prospects for enhancing financial inclusion. “I'm very bullish on digital currencies of all kinds,” he said. “I think that if you can create a financial system, a new and modern technology that is faster, that is less expensive, more efficient, that's good for bringing more people into the system.”