PayPal acquired Curv, enters digital assets market

PayPal, one of the world’s leading online payments system, has recently announced its acquisition of Curv, a cryptocurrency security firm in a deal worth just under 200 million dollars. PayPal was founded in 1998 as Confinity, before becoming a full-fledged subsidiary of commerce giants eBay in 2002.

It remained so until 2015 when it was spun off to eBay’s shareholders. PayPal allows its users to make seamless electronic money transfers online, make purchases and pay for numerous services.

The platform has been used to pay for flight tickets, online courses, book tickets or using websites such as NetBet Nigeria, as well as many other related services all over the world.

PayPal allows those who do not have accounts with them to use their platforms to make business transactions as well. Currently, PayPal is in use in over 200 countries as it has spread its tentacles widely in the online payments industry.

The acquisition of Curv by PayPal is in a bid to aid the company’s push into digital tokens. Curv was founded in 2018 as an entity that offered digital asset security technology to companies, delivered as a cloud service.

This step was the next step by PayPal after the company announced in October 2020 that it intended to foster the use of cryptocurrency for online payments from 2021, specifically stating Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin cash for the movement. It was thus imperative to provide sufficient protection on the platform to enable it flourish.

Curv will now be a part of the PayPal business unit that is mainly focused on blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital currencies.

PayPal has grown in leaps and bounds mainly due to its ability to recognise and leverage on the strengths of smaller companies.

Over the years, PayPal has acquired about ten companies to cover different bases for it, and this has contributed to its continued success. During its time as a subsidiary of eBay, it began acquiring and partnering with companies such as VeriSign, a payment solution to provide added security support.

In 2007, its partnership with MasterCard helped it generate up to $1.8 billion in revenue. In January 2008, it acquired Fraud Sciences, a company that specialised in developing online risk tools for an estimated $169 million.

In November of the same year, it acquired Bill Me Later, a credit company. In 2012, PayPal acquired Discover Card, expanding its network to over 7 million stores which supported payment by Discover Card. In 2013, it acquired IronPearl, an engagement software company, and later in the year, Braintree, a payment gateway. In 2015, it acquired Xoom Corporation, a digital money transfer company, and in 2018, iZettle was acquired for $2.2 billion as a payment processor. PayPal’s biggest acquisition till date is Honey, a company it acquired for over $4 billion. All these acquisitions have helped PayPal create a positive atmosphere around its services and has enabled it to have a hugely inclusive financial system.

The addition of Curv to its arsenal and the rationale behind the action will only further enhance its already burgeoning reputation as one of the world’s leading payment systems.

The editorial unit