Yesterday ConsenSys, the developer of the MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet, said that U.S. users would be able to use PayPal as a cash onramp.
MetaMask is the most popular self custody crypto wallet, with usage peaking in March this year with 30 million monthly active users.
Most cryptocurrency users convert fiat to crypto via centralized exchanges. Unsurprisingly the FTX collapse has made people nervous. And in any case, going via exchanges is a significant friction for more mainstream applications such as NFT-based collectibles.
As a result, many NFT platforms have integrated with solutions such as Ramp or MoonPay to make the process more user-friendly. Other providers, such as Stripe and Plaid, have also rolled out onramp capabilities.
“This integration with PayPal will allow our U.S. users to not just buy crypto seamlessly through MetaMask, but also to easily explore the Web3 ecosystem,” said Lorenzo Santos, Product Manager for MetaMask.
PayPal first launched cryptocurrency access within its walled garden in October 2020. The following March, it enables retail merchants to accept crypto as payment in the U.S.
Meanwhile, MetaMask recently encountered controversy over its privacy policy. A late November update to the policy revealed that the ConsenSys backend Infura receives IP addresses and Ethereum wallet addresses. This raises several privacy issues, not least that it could enable Infura to link transactions across separate sub wallet addresses.
Within two weeks, the company updated users explaining that it never sells the user data. And it plans to reduce the data retention period to seven days.
While the more technically inclined don’t have to use Infura, the issue highlights the centralization of many services in the ‘decentralized’ web3 ecosystem.
