At the close of 2022, PayPal, a major player in the global payment industry, held cryptocurrency worth $604 million on behalf of its customers. Nearly 90% of this amount was comprised of Bitcoin and Ethereum.


According to its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), PayPal possessed $291 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), $250 million worth of Ethereum (ETH), and an additional $63 million in Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash as of December 31st.


The company's crypto portfolio, which was valued at $604 million at the end of 2022, has decreased from its previous value of $690 million in September. This decline is attributed to the declining crypto prices and the negative impact on user confidence caused by the collapse of FTX cryptocurrency exchange.


PayPal's crypto assets make up 67% of their total financial obligations, which was reported to be $902 million at the end of December. According to the same filing, the company's overall financial assets were recorded to be over $25 billion.


In October 2020, PayPal launched a new feature that enabled customers located in the United States to trade specific cryptocurrencies. Since then, the company has extended the service to the UK and has plans to further expand globally.

It's significant to note that this is the first time PayPal has listed the details of its cryptocurrency holdings. Previously, the company did not reveal this information in its annual financial report. In the recent filing, PayPal stated that the reason for including the breakdown of its crypto assets is due to the recent advancements in the industry. The company expressed the need to acknowledge the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, such as technology, legal, and regulatory challenges, and the company's responsibility to protect the crypto assets owned by its customers.


PayPal explained in more detail that their customers' digital assets are kept secure by a third-party custodian. The company emphasized that the custodian is contractually obligated to keep the customer assets separate and distinct from any other assets, including the company's own. However, PayPal acknowledged that they cannot guarantee the effectiveness of these contractual agreements in the event of the custodian's bankruptcy or insolvency.


Additionally, the head of PayPal, Dan Schulman, announced last week that he will step down from his position at the end of the year. Despite his departure from the CEO role, Schulman will still hold a seat on PayPal's board of directors. He has been at the helm of the online payment company since it separated from eBay in 2015.


Due to the current global economic turmoil, PayPal has taken steps to reduce costs. The company recently announced that it has laid off 2,000 employees, roughly 7% of its workforce, as part of its effort to improve and reorganize in a difficult financial climate.



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