Benzinga | May 27, 2021 09:53AM EDT

PayPal Will Finally Let Users Withdraw Bitcoin, Ethereum Other Cryptocurrencies

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) will finally allow users to withdraw Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies to third-party wallets, according to a report by CoinDesk.

What Happened PayPal's head of cryptocurrency, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, reportedly made the announcement at CoinDesk's Consensus 2021 conference on Wednesday.

da Ponte said PayPal is working on adding support for third-party wallet transfers but did not provide details about when the feature will be available.

See Also: How to Buy Ethereum (ETH)

PayPal has allowed its customers to buy cryptocurrencies since last October, but currently does not allow them to transfer cryptocurrency holdings out of PayPal and into private wallets.

Why It Matters: Cryptocurrency proponents have long maintained the "Not your keys, not your Bitcoin" mantra. PayPal and Robinhood customers don't have access to their cryptocurrency wallets on the platform and the services have faced criticism over not allowing withdrawals.

Robinhood in February said it planned on letting its customers be able to withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings.

PayPal's move is also likely a result of higher demand for its crypto services. It was reported in March that the Peter Thiel-co-founded company is purchasing Curv, a technology firm, engaged in the secure storage of cryptocurrencies.

See also: How to Buy PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) Stock

Price Action: PayPal closed almost more than 1% higher in Wednesday's regular trading session at $261.37, but declined less than 0.1% in the after-hours session to $261.22.

Read Next: Signs Crop Up That Apple Is Exploring Cryptocurrency: What You Need To Know

Photo by Marco Verch on Flickr