PayPal surprises users with intriguing patent filing that could say a lot about its future ambitions

JVTech News PayPal surprises users with intriguing patent filing that could say a lot about its future ambitions

PayPal: one more step towards web 3

Although the crypto sector is at a standstill and visibly awaiting yet another rise in Bitcoin, some new players continue to adopt blockchain. This is the case with PayPalwhich, for several months, has clearly shown its interest in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

After allowing the purchase and sale of multiple cryptocurrencies on its platform, PayPal took another step toward industry adoption last month. In this logic, in collaboration with Paxos, the online payments company has officially launched its own cryptocurrency: PayPal USD (PYUSD). This crypto is actually a “stablecoin”, a term which refers to a category of cryptocurrencies designed to be stable. And with this, the online payment colossus intends to provide some benefits as evidenced by a patent filed by the brand.

A patent application has been officially submitted to develop what PayPal describes as a “Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Purchase and Transfer System”. Filed on March 21, 2022, the documents were recently published by the media outlet Cointelegraph.

NFTs at the heart of PayPal’s strategy

Indeed, the American company seems to want to expand its influence in the web 3.0 sector and could do so by moving towards NFTs.

As a reminder, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have become a major phenomenon in 2020 with the rise of the Ethereum cryptocurrency. The technology can be defined as a virtual certificate of ownership associated with an image, video or any other physical or digital object. This token, being indelibly registered on the blockchain, notably offers theoretically inviolable ownership and the rights that go with it. Initially, technology gained a certain momentum in the field of digital art and propelled the movement of what we can call crypto-art with collections like CryptoPunks or Bored Ape Yacht Club. Only today, the market seems to have lost momentum if we refer to the floor price of certain NFTs which have been widely divided. However, this context does not seem to put off PayPal.

Although the application was made over a year ago, the company could launch its own system that would allow users to buy, sell and transfer these NFTs through a third-party provider. It could notably be Ethereum if we refer to a few mentions, but nothing is confirmed at the moment.

And that’s not all. In a logic of democratization of technology, PayPal would also consider allowing its users to carry out off-chain exchanges, that is to say outside blockchain networks. With this system, they could make NFT transfers while avoiding transaction fees which are specific to the technology – a major argument since these are often high and difficult to master when you are a beginner.

With this new patent, PayPal confirms its growing interest in the Web 3.0 era, a term referring to an internet generation where blockchain is omnipresent. The company seems determined to play a major role in the adoption and democratization of these digital assets which, despite the crisis, continue to diversify their use cases in multiple sectors such as aviation, art and even in events.