New Venmo Feature Lets Users Transfer Crypto To Outside Wallets - and To Each Other

Venmo soon will allow users to transfer their Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash to outside wallets -- as well as to other users of the popular payment app. From a report: The feature will roll out starting in May, according to a statement from PayPal, which acquired Venmo in 2013. Users can also transfer crypto to their PayPal wallets, which released a similar ability for users in 2022. Crypto transfers on Venmo will be irreversible, just like crypto transactions more broadly -- a function of cryptocurrency's use of blockchains, or immutable public ledgers. To roll out the transfer system, PayPal is partnering with Paxos, a crypto firm that specializes in stablecoins.

"We're excited to connect Venmo's customers to the community, other wallets and exchanges, and we intend to continue to roll out additional crypto products and services in the year ahead," PayPal said in its statement. The announcement from PayPal is one of the first drips of crypto updates from the payments giant since February, when it was reported that the publicly traded company was pausing work on its own stablecoin after reports that Paxos, its partner in the effort, was under investigation from the New York Department of Financial Services, a key player among U.S. cryptocurrency regulators.

Fraud enabling

[jdelarunz]

And what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!

Re:

[SinisterEVIL]

good question. Please let us know. Pretty basic functionality . What scenario are you concerned about?

Re:Fraud enabling

[Cpt_Kirks]

I heard last night that venmo was basically created for criminals to transfer money to each other.

Don't know if that is true, or an exaggeration.

 

Re:

[fahrbot-bot]

And we can trust the IRS to be the out of control bullies they are arming up to be.

So... hiring more IRS agents -- some to audit high(er)-wage earners, who often have more complex returns, to ensure they pay their fair share of taxes -- makes them "out of control bullies" who are "arming up"? Find more reputable news, also this: No, the IRS is not hiring 87,000 new agents to increase middle-class audit [verifythis.com]:

The majority of IRS hires would fill positions of people leaving the agency over the next decade. That includes staff across departments, not just auditors.

“New staff will be hired to improve taxpayer services and experienced auditors who can take on corporate and high-end tax evaders, without increasing audit rates relative to historical norms for people earning under $400,000 each year,” a spokesperson for the Treasury Department said.

Noting that a Google search shows that earning *more* than $400K puts one in the top 1.8% of wage earners.

Re:

[oldgraybeard]

VerfiyThis.com Funny! do you know who the IRS audits the most? In today's world everyone has their own data and facts supporting their personal truth. Reality is often different from the facts and the truth marketed to the masses.

Re:

[fahrbot-bot]

do you know who the IRS audits the most?

Ya, currently it's lower income people, who have simple/er returns -- because the IRS doesn't have enough auditors, with enough experience and resources, to audit people with higher incomes and more complex returns. Hiring these addition people is suppose to address that. Are you against rich(er) people being held to the same rules and paying their fair share of taxes?

Dude chill

[rsilvergun]

first, run of the mill IRS agents aren't armed. There's a handful of special agents who are [reuters.com]. It's 4% of their staff. They're armed because they investigate criminal tax evasion where the perp is also likely to be armed and dangerous. Isn't your type usually into "back the blue"?

And as for the new IRS agents, they're suit & tie guys going after mega corps dodging taxes that *you* have to pay because *they* don't. Or are you suddenly in favor of disbanding the American Military? Or are you planning to pay for it with a bake sale?

You're in an echo chamber. Go look up a YouTuber named Beau Of The Fifth Column. He'll set you straight. He even did a video about that debunked IRS myth.

Re:

[oldgraybeard]

Youtube? lol funny China announces Deepfakes as a Service(only outside China I am guessing) [slashdot.org] Most video is just clickbait ad/ego junk and of little value. If it isn't real time like a space launch it was created and put up for someones profit.
Better prepare for the new world. Where internet video should be un trusted until proven.

What matters is the ideas

[rsilvergun]

Not who's saying them. It's not a question of trust it's a question of ideas

Will this be actual crypto, or...

[CrappySnackPlane]

Will this be actual crypto, or will it be the PayPal "crypto" - i.e., a PayPal balance that reflects current BTC rates, with no actual token or raw wallet provided?

Too lazy to read TFA, and I'm assuming it's the latter.

Re:

[timeOday]

Well if you're using an "outside wallet" then you are accepting them as a trusted party, so what's the point of all the blockchain number-crunching?

Hard pass

[NG-Buddhist]

I'll keep mine clean from the banks, thank you kindly. Much like church and state, I prefer my cryptocurrency to be separated from my banking.

Besides criminals

[BishopBerkeley]

Who would use this feature? Even the most diehard cyrpto fans I know are not stupid enough to incur a transaction fee for paying $5 to someone else in crypto. I'm assuming Venmo will charge a transaction fee. They charged one when I used my credit card to pay someone. Bastards.

Besides criminals

[BishopBerkeley]

Who would use this feature? Even the most diehard cyrpto fans I know are not stupid enough to incur a transaction fee for paying $5 to someone else in crypto. I'm assuming Venmo will charge a transaction fee. They charged one when I used my credit card to pay someone. Those !!$&&.