PayPal makes Bitcoin service broadly available to eligible U.S. users
PayPal removed its U.S. cryptocurrency waitlist and made Bitcoin buying, holding and selling broadly available to eligible U.S. account holders.
The November 12 expansion converted PayPal's October announcement and limited rollout into broad U.S. availability. Eligible users could access Bitcoin and the other supported cryptocurrencies directly through their existing PayPal accounts.
PayPal also raised its weekly cryptocurrency purchase limit after reporting stronger-than-expected demand. The rollout remained custodial, but it materially expanded the number of mainstream users who could obtain Bitcoin without opening a dedicated exchange account.
Separating this event from the October announcement preserves an important historical stage: October established the service and strategy; November showed that the product had actually reached the broader eligible U.S. customer base.
The November availability milestone was distinct from PayPal’s October announcement: eligible U.S. customers could now actually use the service rather than merely wait for a rollout. The product remained custodial and initially restricted transfers to external wallets, so it broadened price exposure and purchasing access without providing the self-custody model central to native Bitcoin use.