Shares of PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) have popped today, gaining 5% as of 12:30 p.m. EDT, after the company unveiled a new service that will allow users to trade cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin prices also jumped to the highest levels in over a year on the news.
PayPal said that it plans to boost the utility of cryptocurrencies by adding them as a funding source for users making purchases at merchants. The company wants to help catalyze mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, which PayPal notes has been limited by volatility, costs, and transaction speeds. The specific currencies that will be supported initially will be bitcoin, Ethereum, bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.
Image source: PayPal.
Source Fool.com