PayPal has received approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer crypto services in the country. According to the FCA register, PayPal has been registered to provide “certain crypto asset activities” since October 31, 2023. The FCA has placed requirements and restrictions on the financial services activities that PayPal can operate, which include ceasing the onboarding of new customers and restricting existing customers to hold and sell functionality. PayPal is also prohibited from expanding its current offering in crypto assets, including exchange services, participation in initial coin offerings, staking, peer-to-peer exchange, and decentralized finance activities like lending and borrowing.
This approval comes after PayPal briefly paused the ability for its UK customers to buy cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in early October. The company stated that it was working to comply with new regulations in the UK. The United Kingdom has been emerging as a significant cryptocurrency economy, with London being recognized as the world’s most crypto-ready city for business in February 2023. According to Chainalysis, the UK is the largest crypto country in terms of raw transaction volume in Central, Northern, and Western Europe.