PayPal & Bitcoin. An alliance that is profitable

Some background

The digital payment PayPal made a shockwave in 2020 when it announced that it would offer cryptocurrency services. Since the foray into the crypto sphere, PayPal users can now buy, sell, and checkout with digital coins, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. However, Bitcoin seems to be the asset that is most sought after.

Naturally, PayPal has also expanded its crypto-related products to Venmo, a popular online wallet owned by the platform. Similar to PayPal, customers can execute buy or sell orders with cryptocurrencies using the Venmo app.

With the most valuable token in the digital market combined with the most well-known online payment platform, Bitcoin and PayPal have created an alliance that is primed to further push crypto adoptions while disrupting the online payment industry.

How PayPal makes money

To understand how PayPal can benefit from entering the crypto market, you need to understand its core business operations. Essentially, PayPal charges fees whenever a transaction occurs on its platform, whether from merchants or consumers who executed the order.

The fee can stem from a wide range of other services. Those services include currency conversions, fund transfers between customers’ accounts, cross-border transactions, miscellaneous fees, and, of course, cryptocurrency transactions.

The fee structure for crypto transactions

When you use Bitcoin to pay for an online merchant via PayPal, that seller won’t receive the Bitcoin directly, but rather the token will be exchanged into fiat before the transaction go through. And PayPal siphons a percentage from the exchange as a fee. 2.3% for transactions less than $100, for example.

Also, when the platform first accepted crypto in 2022, it didn’t allow moving coins out of its wallet. Not until 2022 did it offer the feature to its users. But now they have to pay a fee if they want to transfer crypto to an address outside of PayPal.

As Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency as a whole, will likely increase its real-world usage and popularity, this represents a tremendous opportunity for PayPal. With PayPal gradually establishing itself as the de facto exchange for trading digital tokens, it will attract more users and boost the fee revenue.

Customers love crypto

Despite the cost of owning Bitcoin via PayPal, early reports, after PayPal adopted the crypto strategy, showed that customers were using the app more because of crypto offerings.

PayPal’s goals are not only to appeal to new users but also to entice existing customers to use the app more. The company once reported that users open the app more frequently after they sign up for crypto services.

Also, a report published by Mizuho Securities in 2020 indicated that nearly 25% of PayPal users participated in a Bitcoin transaction. While PayPal doesn’t publish much detail regarding its current crypto business, the early report showed a promising result.

In addition, consumers might be using Bitcoin as the main medium of exchange in the future. Jose Fernandez da Ponte, senior vice president and general manager for PayPal’s blockchain, said in an interview, “We think a substantial amount of commerce and payments will happen on digital currencies in the future, and we are playing the long game.”

New opportunity for PayPal

Although the crypto market might be experiencing a crypto winter, PayPal still doubled down on its commitment and expansion into the digital coin landscape. Particularly, the platform partnered up with MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet, late last year.

The move aimed to expand the company’s reach to new users, as well as to allow existing customers to conveniently transfer tokens between the two wallets. The partnership will also integrate PayPal as a payment option on MetaMask, generating an additional source of revenue.

Product manager Lorenzo Santos at Consensys, the developer of MetaMask, remarked in a press release, “This integration with PayPal will allow our U.S. users to not just buy crypto seamlessly through MetaMask, but also to easily explore the Web3 ecosystem.”

What does this mean for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, are going through a slump right now due to unfavourable macroeconomic conditions. And it doesn’t seem the market will recover any time soon, at least in the short term.

However, as for long-term growth, Bitcoin holds multiple catalysts for explosive growth in the future – and among them could be PayPal. With more than 420 million active users as of 2022, PayPal represents a much-needed stimulant for Bitcoin’s long-term rise.

As well, with more than 26 million merchants in its network worldwide, PayPal can serve as a springboard to precipitate Bitcoin’s ultimate goal as the main payment method.

Conclusion

Overall, the partnership between PayPal and Bitcoin has created a profitable alliance that has the potential to revolutionize the online payment industry. PayPal’s expansion into the crypto sphere has also enabled its users to easily buy, sell, and checkout with digital coins, including Bitcoin.

As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies become increasingly popular, this represents a great opportunity for PayPal to attract more users and boost its fee revenue. Despite the current slowdown in the crypto market, PayPal’s commitment and expansion into the market suggest an optimistic future for both PayPal and Bitcoin.

The Story Of The Paxful

The traditional financial system has been entrenched in the global economy for hundreds of years. It facilitates the circulation of money, spurring growth and new developments, but it is also the main source of greed and financial crises.

Despite the system’s flaws and many instances of outdated measures, there has not been a contender to challenge the convention. That is, until the Great Financial Crisis in 2008 that led to the birth of Bitcoin. Which, in turn, sparked the advent and expansion of the Bitcoin trading platform, Paxful.

What is Paxful?

Paxful was a crypto platform that focused on Bitcoin transactions. The company’s ambition was to provide financial vehicles “empowering the forgotten 4 billion unbanked and underbanked,” claimed Artur Schaback, the co-founder of Paxful.

Paxful owed its explosive success to the platform’s ease of executing buy, sell, and send Bitcoin. Users were also able to generate revenue from Bitcoin transactions. And the marketplace functioned on a review system that highlighted trustworthy partners.

Thanks to its innovative assortment of services, Paxful became one of the most important entities in the crypto-verse – especially in struggling economies. However, as of April 5, 2023, the platform has indefinitely shuttered its operation, blaming staffing issues and regulatory pressures.

But before we delve into that, let’s wind back the clock a bit.

The Story of Paxful

Paxful was the brainchild of Ray Youssef and Artur Schabach. The two founded the platform in 2015 after having met at a Bitcoin event a year earlier. Bitcoin was not a force to be reckoned with, then. But Youssef and Schabach had the vision to take advantage of the technology and disrupt the conventional financial system.

“They were looking for solutions for how to buy Bitcoin. They met each other, and they had this great idea to develop a marketplace where you can buy Bitcoin with whatever payment method you want. Back then, you could only buy it with bank transfers or credit cards,” said Jan Strandberg, Vice President of Marketing at Paxful.

Paxful was initially launched as a chat system for Bitcoin users. Its services quickly gained traction and increasingly garnered popularity. That led to the launch of Pay with Paxful in 2016, which allowed users to transact with Bitcoin.

Fast forward to 2018, the platform sprouted to include more than 300 payment methods. Paxful also forayed into new markets, such as New York, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Interestingly, the most popular transactional avenue on the platform at the time was gift cards, by which 64% of the trades were executed, and more than $880,000,000 worth of Bitcoin was traded hands.

In the same year, Venezuela became the latest opportunity for the platform – which had 2 million users at that moment. Youssef, in an interview with CoinDesk, described his plan to take advantage of the vast number of unbanked individuals in the country and the growing usage of mobile phones.

However, despite its exploding success, the brand was also increasingly facing regulatory challenges and internal conflicts. All of which culminated in the platform’s implosion and shut down in April 2023.

The downfall of Paxful

The collapse of Paxful didn’t happen overnight, and it would take too long to delve into all the details. But here’s a rundown of some of the internal conflicts, lawsuits, and misconducts:

  • Allegations of drug-related activity, including drug usage at work and illegal drug purchases made by Youssef.
  • Accusations of erratic dismissals of employees, leading to lawsuits from former employees
  • The public feud between Co-founders Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback, with Youssef firing Schaback for “incompetence and bad behaviour”
  • And, both Youssef and Schaback have been arrested at least once since 2016 for improper displays of a firearm, possession of cocaine, and other counts.

And the list goes on. So it is no wonder that after the collapse, the co-founder Youssef put out a statement, saying, “We, unfortunately, have had some key staff departures. Also, regulatory challenges for the industry continue to grow, especially in the peer-to-peer market and most heavily in the US.”

Its impact on the community

Though the platform is out of business, it’s worth revisiting some of Paxful’s innovative achievements, which might serve as a springboard for the crypto community to draw inspiration from:

  • One-stop app: Paxful allowed its users to perform all the tasks in one single app, be that selling, buying, sending, or chatting with the counterparty.
  • Strong customer support: Crypto firms tend to overly focus on the technical aspect of a project, and they completely neglect the fundamentals of a business. Paxful understood this, so they enhanced their services by offering 24/7 customer service.
  • Earning income: one of the main appeals of Paxful was that it shared a part of its fees with the users through affiliate programs. You would earn commissions on transactions made by someone you referred to. Also, Paxful Kiosk enabled you to earn a fee when other people use your customized link to purchase Bitcoin
  • Entering emerging markets: Youssef and Schaback knew the gold mine residing in small economies, like Venezuela. Those were the countries that experienced hyperinflation and unstable financial market and were very much in need of new transacting currency.

A new contender

The collapse of Paxful, a prominent Bitcoin trading platform, has caused uncertainty and concern among crypto enthusiasts. However, the HiRiBi exchange offers a promising alternative with its user-friendly interface, top-notch security features, and extensive range of supported cryptocurrencies. Whether you’re a seasoned trader or a beginner, HiRiBi provides a secure and convenient platform to buy, sell, and exchange Bitcoin. With its robust security measures and commitment to customer satisfaction, HiRiBi is well-positioned to emerge as a leading crypto exchange in the market.

Bull Market. Ways to Profit

You probably have heard by now. That the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, with more than $200 billion in assets, earlier this month has roiled the banking system. This consequently caused chain reaction events, with Signature Bank, more than $100 billion in assets, unravelling and the investment bank giant Credit Suisse getting snatched up by another banking giant UBS.

Cryptо is the way out

These unnerving debacles have left investors worried about the stability of the banking system. However, there is one asset that stands to benefit from the undoing of banking entities – cryptocurrency.

Digital assets have rallied in the past few weeks, as these events embody a testament to the need for a decentralized banking system. The implosions at the banks, as a result, might have triggered another bull run for crypto. However, you still have to invest smartly to avoid any unnecessary risk, and thus, this article will discuss seven strategies than can help you become a more intelligent investor.

Do Your Research

Before investing in any cryptocurrency, do your research. You should understand the characteristics, features, and use cases behind the token, as well as the team behind each project. This will help you determine whether the cryptocurrency has the potential to grow in value over time, or is just another failed project among a long line of botched efforts.

Diversify Your Portfolio

One of the most critical aspects of investing in cryptocurrencies, or in general, is diversification. Allocating money to a single cryptocurrency exposes you to a significant amount of risk, as the price of this asset class is notoriously volatile. Diversifying your portfolio by investing in multiple tokens helps you spread the overall risk and reduce the chance of losing all your money in one single coin.

Set Realistic Targets

Investing in cryptocurrencies can be a highly emotional experience. During a bull market, prices rise rapidly, and it can be tempting to invest more money than you can afford to lose. But a token’s value can tumble just as quickly as it collapses. Therefore, you should set realistic targets and have clear investment strategies and stick to them, even if the price continues to rise.

Follow Market Trends

Following market trends can help you make informed investment decisions. By keeping an eye on the cryptocurrency market, you can identify patterns and trends that may indicate a bullish or bearish market. For example, Bitcoin’s prices have been on an upward trajectory for the past few weeks. You need to determine if the move is a sustainable trend, or if is it just a blip. With the current turmoil in the banking system, this might represent a tailwind for the crypto market, but you have to decide that for yourself.

Use Dollar-Cost Averaging

Dollar-cost averaging is a strategy that entails investing a fixed amount of money in a cryptocurrency at regular intervals, regardless of its price. The practice potentially ensures that you won’t buy cryptocurrencies at their peak prices, while at the same time letting you take advantage of price dips. That is, the merit of dollar-cost averaging is allowing investors to ride out all the waves in the volatile crypto market but still reap the long-term capital gain.

Use Stop-Loss Orders

Stop-loss orders are a common risk management practice that can help you to protect your investments during a bull market. A stop-loss order is an order placed with your exchange or broker to sell a cryptocurrency when it reaches a certain price. This creates a fail-safe to limit your losses in the event of a sudden price drop, which can increasingly become more probable as prices shoot up quickly.

Consider staking

Staking is a strategy that allows you to earn passive income from your cryptocurrency investments. Staking involves holding a certain amount of cryptocurrency in a wallet and using it to validate transactions on the network. In exchange for staking your crypto, you can earn transaction fees and block rewards. So, instead of relying solely on price appreciation to earn a profit, staking provides a more stable option for investors to general steady returns, especially when bull markets spark more crypto interest.

Conclusion

Investing in cryptocurrencies during a bull market can be highly profitable, but it can also be highly risky. By following these strategies, you can boost your chances of earning a profit from your cryptocurrency investments while managing your risk.

Where to build your crypto portfolio?

HiRiBi is a specialized platform that offers a unique opportunity to sell Bitcoin for PayPal dollars. Despite PayPal’s cautious approach toward cryptocurrencies, HiRiBi has succeeded in providing a reliable service. The platform prides itself on offering the best rates for selling Bitcoin on the market due to its unique algorithm that constantly monitors market trends to provide users with the best offers available at the moment. On average, HiRiBi users can sell their bitcoins 5-10% higher than the market average rate. The platform is fast and only requires two Bitcoin network confirmations before USD is sent to your PayPal wallet. HiRiBi is also completely anonymous, requiring only an email for registration.

How beginners learn to analyze the crypto market

Cryptocurrency holds the key to an array of innovations, promising to revolutionize a wide range of industries. So far, however, fraudulent and failed projects have flooded the digital asset market.

If you are yet to give up on this nascent asset class, there are important questions to ask, aspects to analyze, and details to scrutinize before you embark on cryptocurrency investing.

Pick coins with a large market capitalization

The easiest way to identify a legitimate digital token is to look at its market capitalization. The more valuable the market value, the more money investors have poured into the token. But in the crypto-verse, a coin’s price can spike overnight due to baseless enthusiasm, so you need to ensure that the market cap has consistently grown over time.

For example, two of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the market are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Because they have been around the longest, garnering a substantive amount of supporters, Bitcoin’s market cap is now more than $400 billion, and nearly $200 billion for Ethereum.

Understand the Tokenomics

Tokenomics essentially means the economic properties of a token, that is, its distribution, circulation, and total supply. The attractiveness of crypto is the asset can shield your wealth from inflation. The law of supply and demand dictates that with less supply in circulation, the asset will have an easier time preserving its value.

In particular, proponents of Bitcoin argue that because it has a maximum supply of 21 million coins, Bitcoin’s price will not deteriorate due to excessive supply. The easiest comparison is to the dollar. Inflation remains the number one enemy of the greenback since monetary policy, over the years, required more money printing.

Read the white paper

Every crypto project comes with a white paper that explains all the nitty gritty details. Scanning through the paper will help you understand the project’s objectives and the basics of the technology. It should also clearly outline the project’s mission and how the token can solve the problem it’s trying to solve.

If, however, the paper fails to explicitly include all the information above, consider this a red flag. You should also shun projects that only articulate generic statements like “crypto is the future” without having any valid technology to support their venture.

Examine the team

At the core of a token’s success are its founders and developers. In the wake of the crypto market craze, people have started to create their own cryptocurrency in pursuit of a quick profit. While there are legitimate projects out there among the crypto haystack, you need to do research on the development team before investing your money.

One way to gauge the team’s credibility is its professional experience. Do the founders have any previous crypto-related experience? Do the developers have the expertise in the technology? How long have they been involved in the project? You can find the answer to these questions by looking at the team profile on their website or their LinkedIn accounts.

If you can’t find their professional records anywhere, this is another red flag.

The strength of the community’s support

Having a solid team to develop a coin is only half the way; the other half requires a strong supporter base from the community. You must know whether the crypto project has long-term stalwarts or short-term hype. Without being able to attract investors and supporters, the project won’t be able to thrive.

Join the community’s Discord or Telegram channel. From there, you can tell if it’s a vibrant hub of discussion or a wasteland of empty chat rooms sparse of any conversation. You should also find out if the project’s marketing campaign is well-organized and frequently promoted among its community.

Learn the utility

Many opponents of the asset believe cryptocurrencies have no value because they provide no utility. Though the majority of tokens in circulation don’t offer any solution to real-world problems, there are still projects that have the potential to upend many societal aspects.

The most fascinating one is Ethereum’s underlying technologies. With the advent of smart contracts, crypto believer thinks buyers can directly transact with sellers, sidelining the intermediary and middlemen fees. As well, NFTs are stoking the prospect of online digital arts replacing conventional ones.

Overall, investing in cryptocurrency can be a complex process. But by doing your due diligence and carefully evaluating projects, you can make informed decisions that increase your chances of success. If you’re looking for a reliable and secure platform to buy and trade cryptocurrencies, consider using the HiRiBi exchange. With its user-friendly interface, top-notch security features, and extensive range of supported cryptocurrencies, HiRiBi is an excellent choice for crypto enthusiasts of all levels.

Top 5 Crypto Exchanges in 2023

With the collapse of the once-preeminent FTX exchange, people have lost faith in the crypto market. However, while the digital asset class is undoubtedly on a rough path, their technological advances – including blockchain technology, smart contracts, and Web 3.0 – still have much to offer in the future. So, if you still believe in this nascent and growing industry, here are the top five cryptocurrency exchanges. There you can reliably store and transact your tokens.

Gemini

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that is suitable for both beginners and experienced traders. It provides a user-friendly app and educational resources for new investors to learn about cryptocurrency. For advanced traders, Gemini offers a robust trading platform, yield-earning products such as Gemini Earn and Gemini Staking, and strong security features. Gemini Earn allows users to earn rewards on over 40 cryptocurrencies by lending out their crypto holdings. At the same time, Gemini Staking enables users to gain a yield on their Ethereum and Cardano holdings. However, the platform’s fee structure may be a drawback for some users, as fees for “web orders” can be as high as 1.49% and additional fees may apply for debit card usage. Despite its convoluted fees, Gemini remains a top platform for those looking to get started with cryptocurrency trading.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a good platform for both beginner and experienced crypto traders. With an account minimum of only $2, it is a good starting point for beginners. Coinbase offers an “earn while you learn” program, which allows beginners to learn more about various cryptocurrencies while earning rewards. The platform also provides customer support through an online help centre, chat system, and live phone support, which is a standout feature compared to other exchanges. Coinbase offers multiple storage options, including three different crypto wallets. However, the fee structure for Coinbase’s basic version is complex. Fees are calculated at the time of order placement, which may include factors like location, payment method, order size, and market conditions. For advanced users, the 25% commission on yields charged for staking on the platform can be a significant downside compared to other crypto exchanges.

Kraken

Kraken is a good choice for investors at all levels of experience. The advantages of the platform are strong security, low trading fees, and a broad range of available cryptocurrencies. The Kraken Pro trading platform charges reasonable fees, and as trading volumes increase, the fees decline. Experienced investors can benefit from Kraken’s various features. Such as staking, margin trading, and a broad range of coins, though margin trading is limited to users with large account balances in the US. The main drawback of Kraken is its beginner trading program, which charges high trading fees. Also, Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange that is available globally but not to residents of certain states in the US. The exchange only accepts a few fiat currencies, which could lead to additional conversion charges for some users. However, since it accepts US dollars, US-based investors need not worry about this issue.

Crypto.com

Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency trading platform with over 250 coins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), making it also a great choice for the inexperienced. The platform offers excellent educational materials and analysis on markets, though its customer support only offers chat services. Crypto.com has its native cryptocurrency, CRO, which helps lower trading fees, and users can spend their holdings through the platform’s Visa debit card. The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet is also a strong option for crypto investors who prioritize storage options. However, the Crypto.com exchange platform is only available to select institutional investors in the US. Also, US residents can only access Crypto.com through the mobile app, with New York residents unable to access the platform. If using a credit or debit card, expect high fees.

HiRiBi

HiRiBi is a specialized platform that offers a unique opportunity to sell Bitcoin for PayPal dollars. Despite PayPal’s cautious approach toward cryptocurrencies, HiRiBi has succeeded in providing a reliable service. The platform prides itself on offering the best rates for selling Bitcoin on the market. Its unique algorithm constantly monitors market trends to provide users with the best offers available at the moment. On average, HiRiBi users can sell their bitcoins 15% higher than the market average rate. The platform is fast and only requires two Bitcoin network confirmations before USD is sent to your PayPal wallet. HiRiBi is also completely anonymous, requiring only an email for registration.