Last year, PayPal rolled out cryptocurrency trading in the US, with the service powered by the US based Paxos.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, VP and general manager for blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal, said “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.”
Fernandez da Ponte further said:
“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.”
PayPal anticipates finishing the takeover in the initial half of 2021.
Curv is a startup focused on custodial service. The firm uses advanced technology that lures institutional investors. It utilizes multi-party calculations, implying that several parties develop cryptographic based classified data rather than a single private key for commencing transactions. To complete a transaction, a subset of the classified data is required.
Curv co-founder and CEO Itay Malinger said “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.”
The deal can be termed as one of the first significant merger and acquisition (M&A) deal as institutions start adopting blockchain and digital asset technology. Other major players offering cryptocurrency custodial service are Anchorage and Metaco.