PayPal launches integration with MetaMask Web3 wallet for Ethereum transactions

Similar to PayPal’s checkout feature at online stores like Etsy and eBay, the integration with ConsenSys’s MetaMask will let users buy and transfer Ether by logging in into MetaMask, tapping the “buy” button, and logging into PayPal before making a purchase.

The company said in a statement that select U.S.-based MetaMask customers will be able to use PayPal to buy Ether as of Wednesday, and that the feature will be rolled out to all U.S. users in the coming weeks.

A crypto wallet like MetaMask is often the starting point for interacting with Web3 applications like play-to-earn games and some metaverse platforms. Adding PayPal to MetaMask could broaden the customer base for some of these applications by removing the complexity from buying crypto.

“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,” MetaMask product manager Lorenzo Santos said in the statement.

PayPal has embraced crypto in several ways over the past few years. It first gave customers the ability to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency on its platform in 2020, and in 2021 added a “checkout with crypto” feature that supported Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash.

After having mostly siloed customer crypto funds within the PayPal ecosystem since 2020, the company in June also let its customers transfer any crypto bought on PayPal to other wallets or exchanges.

Last week, PayPal competitor Stripe launched its own tool to help Web3 companies, including games and NFT marketplaces, allow their customers to buy crypto with fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. The payments company, which has partnerships with Apple and Walmart, said it also will handle fraud, compliance, and know-your-customer (KYC) checks.