On Tuesday, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), a global online payments platform, successfully registered as a crypto service provider with the UK regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
New steps for PayPal crypto activities approved by the FCA
The platform was permitted entry to the registry on Tuesday and was approved by noon on Wednesday to engage in certain cryptoasset activities as stated by the FCA. Recently, the FCA declared that companies offering crypto services in the UK must be approved for registration and comply with the FCA’s anti-money laundering rules, or charges will occur.
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Having been approved, PayPal can now also approve its own crypto-related communications within the new registry, which was opened and implemented in 2020 to combat the rising number of fraudulent crypto activities in the UK and further afield.
In August, PayPal announced that it needed to temporarily pause purchases made via the platform in order to comply with new UK laws.
A PayPal spokesperson noted that the company’s new registration onto the UK crypto register does not affect the pause PayPal announced in August:
The Financial Conduct Authority has approved PayPal UK Ltd as an authorised electronic money institution and consumer credit firm and registration as a crypto asset business, enabling the transfer of PayPal’s U.K. customer accounts to this new U.K. entity from PayPal Europe on 1 November 2023.
Despite its legal entry, PayPal will still face some restrictions which hinder the company’s ability to expand the current crypto offerings such as staking, exchanging crypto assets, and participating in initial coin offerings. Additionally, its decentralised finance activities, like lending without the FCA’s permission, will not be legalised.
