PayPal users can now buy crypto up to $100K every week

Theoretically, this means US customers can buy more than $5 million worth of crypto in PayPal every year. Still can't withdraw it, though.

Payments giant PayPal has boosted its buy limit on crypto to $100,000 per week for US users — up five times from the app’s previous $20,000 cap.

“The ever-changing needs of customers” drove PayPal to increase the threshold, said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s VP of blockchain and crypto.

Theoretically, this means US customers can now buy more than $5 million worth of crypto with PayPal every year.

However, it must be said that PayPal users don’t physically own the crypto they purchase — their balances (and private keys) are managed by third party processor BitPay.

PayPal first increased its crypto buying limit to $15,000 per week from $10,000 in November 2020. Recently in February, the weekly crypto purchase limit for PayPal users was $20,000.

PayPal also previously maintained a $50,000 annual limit on crypto purchases. That’s obviously been scrapped. The app will now include crypto-related educational guides.

You can buy crypto but you can’t withdraw it

PayPal first allowed US users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash directly via its app last December, however all digital assets acquired on PayPal must stay there.

In March, the San Jose company then allowed US merchants to easily accept crypto for purchases — by first converting it to US dollars at time of sale.

And in May, PayPal promised it would soon allow withdrawing cryptocurrency from the platform. PayPal charges fees between 1.5% and 2.3% on crypto transactions.

According to PayPal chief financial officer John Rainey, users who buy crypto use the app twice as much as others.

Rainey also noted that 50% of crypto holders on PayPal use the app daily as of May.

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