Venmo Adds Option To Buy And Sell Cryptocurrency

MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) -- Venmo is getting on the cryptocurrency craze.

Customers can now buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly in the digital payments app.

They just need one dollar to get started and that can come from existing funds within Venmo or a linked bank account or debit card.

Customers can choose between four types of cryptocurrency; bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash.

The new feature also comes with in-app guides and videos on how cryptocurrency works.

Last month, Venmo's parent company, PayPal, announced that users could pay for goods at checkout using cryptocurrencies.

The payment company hopes that this new initiative "demystifies some of the common questions and misconceptions that consumers may have," Darrell Esch, senior vice president and general manager at Venmo, said in a statement.

More than 30% of Venmo customers have already started purchasing cryptocurrency or equities, according to the company. And 20% of those customers started doing so during the pandemic.

Last week, crypto enthusiasm soared as trading platform Coinbase went public at a valuation of $86 billion, followed by a wild 500% rally in Dogecoin — an asset that was created as a joke in 2013.

Cryptocurrency backers have spent years insisting that bitcoin, ethereum and other digital coins could revolutionize the world of finance. That hasn't happened yet, but Venmo's announcement is another example of how crypto is creeping ever closer toward mainstream acceptance.

Tesla has recently started to recognize and accept cryptocurrencies and Mastercard, and Visa are trying to streamline crypto payments on their networks. Goldman Sachs will reportedly soon offer its private wealth management clients avenues to invest in bitcoin and other digital currencies. Morgan Stanley announced recently it will offer its wealthy clients access to bitcoin funds.

E11even Miami has also become the first major nightclub in the U.S. to accept cryptocurrency.

The company partnered with a cryptocurrency processing company so customers can use Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Dogecoin or others to pay for tables, drinks, and merchandise.

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