Yerevan (CoinChapter.com) — US residents can now enter the crypto markets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, for as little as one dollar.
The feature comes to life after Venmo — one of the most prominent payment apps in the country — announced that it now offers the option to hold, purchase, or sell Bitcoin and its rival cryptocurrency tokens, including Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC).
PayPal also started offering the same token services atop its legacy platform beginning October 2020.
“Our goal is to provide our customers with an easy-to-use platform that simplifies the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies and demystifies some of the common questions and misconceptions that consumers may have,”
said Darrell Esch, senior vice president and general manager at Venmo.
Crypto Boom
The announcement comes amid an ongoing crypto adaption boom that has witnessed companies like Mastercard, Tesla, Visa, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs roll out bitcoin-enabled services on their traditional platforms. Analysts see it as a preparation for a potential rise in demand for cryptocurrencies among retail and institutional investors alike, primarily as the inflation rate spikes higher and fears of US dollar devaluation persist.
Venmo’s crypto services intend to cater the small investors.
The company’s press release attached a study that showed that more than 30 percent of Venmo clients have already started purchasing cryptocurrencies. About 20 percent of them started trading the assets during the coronavirus pandemic, a period of lockdown that attracted bored individuals to learn investments. Bitcoin benefited due to its anti-inflation narrative.
Meanwhile, its top rival sectors, including decentralized finance, also boomed amid growing speculation.
With the Federal Reserve preserving lending rates near zero until 2024 and deciding to continue buying government debts and mortgage-backed securities at the pace of $120 billion per month, bulls like Paul Tudor Jones and Stan Druckenmiller see investors shifting away from lower-yielding assets to riskier alternatives like bitcoin.
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