Global payments giant PayPal is set to start allowing its business clients to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their accounts in the United States, aiming to capitalize on growing demand from business owners.

Over-the-counter cryptocurrency brokers in China are, according to a recent study, attracting record inflows as investors seek alternative investments amid weak equity and property market returns in the country’s struggling economy.

Financial institutions are increasingly turning to Bitcoin-backed lending as fiat currency interest rates tighten. Ledn, a prominent player in the Bitcoin-backed lending space, revealed that it has witnessed a significant uptick in interest from institutional investors in this sector.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

•   PayPal Expands Crypto Offerings to Business Clients in U.S.
•   Chinese OTC Crypto Brokers Attract Record $75 Billion Amid Economic Slowdown
•   Bitcoin-Backed Lending Gains Traction Among Financial Institutions

PayPal Expands Crypto Offerings to Business Clients in U.S.

Global payments giant PayPal is set to start allowing its business clients to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their accounts in the United States, aiming to capitalize on growing demand from business owners.

The company has been offering these features to its individual users for several years on both PayPal and Venmo, and has seen demand from business owners to access crypto as well, according to Jose Fernandez da Ponte, senior vice president of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital currencies at PayPal.

PayPal is also set to allow U.S. merchants to transfer cryptocurrency on-chain to eligible third-party wallets in a service that will, at first, be unavailable in the state of New York.

The payments giant started letting its retail users buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies on their accounts back in 2020, and last year launched its own stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), which now has a market capitalization of over $1 billion.

Chinese OTC Crypto Brokers Attract Record $75 Billion Amid Economic Slowdown

Over-the-counter cryptocurrency brokers in China are, according to a recent study, attracting record inflows as investors seek alternative investments amid weak equity and property market returns in the country’s struggling economy.

According to a Chainalysis study, inflows topped $20 billion in each of the first three quarters of the years for a total of $75.4 billion over nine months. The figure highlights growing demand for cryptocurrency in China, despite the government’s three-year-old ban on crypto trading over currency outflows and money laundering risks.

Over-the-counter trading services provide a discreet avenue for investors to convert their Yuan into cryptocurrencies, as they bypass the public order books of traditional exchanges.

The data further reveals that a significant portion of the inflows, roughly 55%, comprise transfers exceeding $1 million, suggesting wealthy individuals are involved, or businesses are transactions on behalf of smaller customers.

Crypto activity in China could keep on growing over time, despite the unfavorable regulatory situation. Russian commodities firms, for example, reportedly used cryptocurrencies to settle some cross-border transactions with Chinese clients.

Bitcoin-Backed Lending Gains Traction Among Financial Institutions

Financial institutions are increasingly turning to Bitcoin-backed lending as fiat currency interest rates tighten. Ledn, a prominent player in the Bitcoin-backed lending space, revealed that it has witnessed a significant uptick in interest from institutional investors in this sector.

The surge in institutional interest follows the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, which attracted billions of dollars in investment, driving demand for Bitcoin-related financial products.

The firm said that major institutions are now “going beyond ETFs to focus on Bitcoin-backed lending.” Ledn processed over $1.16 billion in cryptocurrency loans in the first half of the year, primarily for institutions.

According to market research HFT Market Intelligence, the Bitcoin lending market comprises around $8.5 billion in outstanding BTC-backed loans and could grow to $45 billion by 2030. These loans are often denominated in fiat currency, but collateralized with BTC that borrowers forfeit if they fail to repay their loans.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols, such as Aave, also indirectly compete with Bitcoin-backed loan providers.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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