PayPal United Kingdom will temporarily halt crypto purchases on its platform from Oct. 1, 2023, through early 2024 to comply with local financial regulations.
PayPal is temporarily suspending the ability for its U.K. customers to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the company told Cointelegraph on August 16.
“PayPal customers who currently hold cryptocurrency can store it on our platform for free and sell it at any time,” a PayPal U.K. spokesperson explained.
In an email to select U.K. customers, PayPal announced that beginning October 1, 2023, it will temporarily suspend cryptocurrency purchases in the U.K. “We expect to re-enable crypto purchases in early 2024,” PayPal added.
PayPal stated that it decided to take this action in response to new regulations imposed by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that require crypto firms to take additional steps before clients can purchase cryptocurrencies.
The announcement states, “While we work to comply with these new regulations, you will not be able to purchase cryptocurrencies using PayPal.”
In recent years, PayPal has become a prominent cryptocurrency-friendly platform. One of its most recent crypto-related initiatives is the launch of PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin in early August.
Subsequently, the company added a new cryptocurrency gateway feature to its interface. PayPal’s cryptocurrency services initially debuted in the United States in late 2020.
Since 2020, the FCA has reported that only 13 percent of the 291 crypto license applicants registered with the authority. The FCA announced last month that all crypto asset firms must ensure that their marketing strategies comply with the U.K.’s financial promotions regime by October 2023.
