PayPal Holdings Inc. has launched a new payment option that enables small U.S. merchants to accept more than 100 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a range of emerging digital tokens.
The service, announced on Monday, marks the fintech giant’s latest expansion into the digital asset space.
According to the company, any U.S.-based business using PayPal’s online payments processing platform can opt in to the crypto checkout service.
The initiative will begin with a promotional transaction fee of 0.99 percent for the first year, rising to 1.5 percent thereafter. By comparison, U.S. businesses paid an average of 1.57 percent in credit card processing fees in 2024, according to the Nilson Report.
Frank Keller, Executive Vice President at PayPal, said the move underscores the company’s belief in the growing shift towards blockchain-based financial transactions.
“There’s a worldview where you can imagine that the world is moving on chain. Is that happening overnight? No. Some people say long time periods. Other people say very short time periods. I think we will see movement,” he said.
To settle transactions, PayPal will allow users to connect their existing crypto wallets directly to the checkout page. The cryptocurrencies will be sold through exchanges such as Coinbase or Uniswap, and the proceeds converted into PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD. Merchants will then receive payments in U.S. dollars.
Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal, noted the cross-border advantage of the new system.
“Imagine a shopper in Guatemala buying a special gift from a merchant in Oklahoma City. Using PayPal’s open platform, the business can accept crypto for payments,” he said in a statement.
PayPal has been a leading adopter of crypto within the Fortune 500, initially allowing U.S. customers to buy and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2020, before extending services to Venmo.
Its stablecoin PYUSD, launched in 2023, has seen its market capitalization grow by about 70 percent in 2025, reaching approximately $850 million, according to CoinGecko.
The company said it intends to extend crypto acceptance to larger enterprise customers in the U.S. and globally, though no specific timeline has been provided.
The announcement comes amid a surge in cryptocurrency markets and renewed regulatory support for digital assets under the Trump administration.
Analysts say PayPal’s initiative could accelerate mainstream adoption of crypto payments by lowering costs for merchants and offering a broad range of token options.
