By
Svetlana Soroka
April 24th, 2024
First rumors about PayPal’s intention to acquire Curv appeared on March 2. Before that, PayPal was going to acquire crypto custodian giant BitGo. However, the deal didn’t go through.
The world’s leading payment processing company PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) acquires digital asset custody firm Curv. According to the press release, the acquisition is a part of PayPal’s initiative to accelerate and expand its crypto-related activity.
The financial terms of the deal have not been revealed. However, those familiar with the matter said PayPal acquires Curv for less than $200 million. The companies are planning to complete the acquisition in the first half of this year.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, VP of Global Business Development at PayPal, commented:
“The acquisition of Curv is part of our effort to invest in the talent and technology to realize our vision for a more inclusive financial system. During our conversations with Curv’s team, we’ve been impressed by their technical talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and the thinking behind the technology they’ve built in the last few years. We’re excited to welcome the Curv team to PayPal.”
Curv is a developer of digital asset security infrastructure that helps crypto-native and financial institutions create digital wallets. Its security technology allows users to build crypto finance products that safely transfer, store, and manage any digital asset on any blockchain or digital system for recording transactions. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Curv provides a scalable, software-only, cloud-based service that replaces the need for both cold and hot wallets, all powered by multi-party computation (MPC).
Curv CEO Itay Malinger said:
“As a pioneer in security infrastructure for digital assets, Curv is proud to be recognized as an innovator and trusted partner to leading financial institutions around the world. Now, as the adoption of digital assets accelerates, we feel there’s no better home than PayPal to continue our journey of innovation. We’re excited to join PayPal in expanding the role these assets play in the global economy.”
PayPal’s Crypto Ambitions
First rumors about PayPal’s intention to acquire Curv appeared on March 2. Before that, PayPal was going to acquire crypto custodian giant BitGo. However, the deal didn’t go through.
PayPal started accepting cryptocurrencies at the end of 2020. At present, its users can buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC). Last month, the company also announced its plan to serve as a central bank digital currency (CBDC) distributor. In addition, PayPal is considering smart contracts as well as tokenizations of other non-crypto assets.
Before February this year, PayPal’s crypto products were only available in the US. Now, UK residents can also enjoy the crypto services PayPal offers.
All the crypto initiatives PayPal is making seem to be a step in the right direction. The company’s Q4 2020 results clearly demonstrate that. As we reported, the company recorded a 72% increase year-on-year in the number of its new accounts which came in at 16 million for the quarter. Besides, the firm recorded 40.9 transactions per active accounts with a total payment volume coming in at $277 billion.