It’s Official: PayPal to Acquire Crypto Custodian Curv

The leading payment processor, PayPal, announced today that it has agreed to purchase the digital asset custody company, Curv. It said that it will complete the acquisition in the first quarter of the year.

Rumors Confirmed True As PayPal Acquire Curv

Reports surfaced last week that PayPal was planning to acquire cryptocurrency security firm, Curv. There were no concrete evidence to buttress the claims, but the leading payment giants have now made it official via a press release today.

The company’s decision to purchase Curv reaffirms its mandate to remain closely knitted to the digital asset space and become a major player in the rapidly changing financial world. According to the statement released on its website, PayPal said the rationale behind its latest acquisition is “to accelerate and expand its initiatives to support cryptocurrencies and digital assets.”

PayPal’s blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies vice president and general manager, Jose Fernandez da Ponte had a few words to say about the latest addition.

“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.”

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but according to previous reports, PayPal may pay in the region of $500 million to acquire Curv. It said that the deal will be completed in the first quarter of the year.

What Will Curv Bring To The Table?

Curv is a digital asset security company founded in 2018. It developed an encryption technology based on multi-party computation (MPC). This enables secure transfer and eliminates any point of failure by distributing generated private keys between cloud and client.

With major institutions now weighing in, there’s a lot more on the line, and it has become even more paramount to ensure top-notch security.

Curv CEO Itay Malinger spoke briefly about the fresh development.

“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 Surging Interest In Cryptocurrencies

PayPal’s foray into the industry kicked off in October 2020 when it announced that customers would be able to buy and hold cryptocurrencies on its platform. It was unarguably one of the biggest news in the crypto world last year.

With over 360 million users and 26 million vendors newly exposed to the market, many predicted a bullish momentum, and they were not disappointed. Crypto market capitalization surged by $25 billion while bitcoin hit a new all-time high following the announcement.