PayPal is the Cart Coming Before the Horse in the Bitcoin Space

Jordan Atkins of CoinGeek examines why digital asset providers are not being kept up to their promises, with a special focus on Revolut, one of the more well-known fintech companies to have cropped up in recent years to promise a revolution in money management.

"In 2017, Revolut entered the digital asset game by offering customers the ability to buy “cryptocurrency” on the platform. The announcement touted the service as the “easiest and fastest way to buy cryptocurrency,” while Revolut’s homepage is plastered with its crypto purchasing features. The impression given by Revolut’s homepage—in plain English terms—is that their service can be used to purchase digital assets."

That appears to be no longer the case, as Atkins illustrates.

"Years after the service was introduced, Revolut changed its terms and conditions on July 27, 2020, introducing the idea of ownership of the rights to the financial value of the digital asset despite there being no previous indication that this was not the status quo.

"Any digital asset purchase or sale made on Revolut is merely an instruction for Revolut to make the purchase or sale on your behalf. In the case of a purchase, you are only purchasing a ‘beneficial right’ to the asset, which Revolut says means you have the right to tell them when to sell or transfer the asset, but in reality, any such instruction can be accepted or rejected in accordance with Revolut’s terms and conditions, which is so broad as to essentially grant Revolut complete discretion over which instructions to accept and which to ignore."

Then there is PayPal, which may have helped contribute to the explosive price boost of Bitcoin in recent months.

PayPal introduced its new service as a means of “enabling users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency.”

Atkins notes that they too have changed their terms and conditions.

You currently are NOT able to send Crypto Assets to family or friends, use Crypto Assets to pay for goods or services, or withdraw Crypto Assets from your Cryptocurrencies Hub to an external cryptocurrency wallet. If you want to withdraw the value from your Cryptocurrencies Hub you will need to sell your Crypto Assets and withdraw the cash proceeds from their sale.

In that sense, you can only ‘buy’ digital assets using this service if you are wanting to hold them or eventually redeem them for cash value, Atkins explains. 

"You cannot move these assets to another wallet, nor can you send them to another person. Again, this is not ownership."

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com