PayPal is presently working on plans for buying Curv. The plans of PayPal to acquire Curv have been making news on all platforms in the digital landscape. It is basically a technology firm for powering highly secure cryptocurrency storage. The news has been confirmed by three different sources that are aware of the situation.
A renowned Israeli news outlet Calcalist has reported that PayPal buys Curv in the range of $200 million to $300 million, without disclosing the name of the buyer. One of the sources in the digital asset landscape has verified that PayPal purchases Curv for $500 million. Many individuals in the cryptocurrency space have asserted that PayPal entered the domain in the last year.
Now, it is slowly turning its attention towards Curv after discussions on purchasing crypto custody alongside trading firm BitGo faded away last year. PayPal offered $750 million for BitGo in cash according to two sources. However, PayPal has not yet confirmed the news and has not returned any requests for comments. On the other hand, Curv has also declined to provide any comments for the situation.
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PayPal Announces the Aquisition of Curv
The initiative of PayPal to acquire Curv is one of the recent improvements over many of its past acquisitions. PayPal has been successful in ensuring some notable acquisitions in the past including Vemno. The new initiative to bring in Curv is a promising intervention for PayPal to venture in the crypto domains.
As of now, Curv has been successful in raising more than $30 million with a formidable contribution of $23 million funding round in July last year. PayPal entered into a partnership with New York-based Paxos for offering direct cryptocurrency purchases for millions of US users. More so, PayPal has also stated its intentions of introducing crypto service in the UK quite soon.
PayPal finally ended all the assumptions about purchasing Curv by expressing a direct announcement. The financial terms of the deal in which PayPal purchases Curv have not been disclosed. However, the aim of PayPal in this acquisition primarily revolves around using Curv for speeding and expanding the initiatives for supporting digital assets such as CBDC and cryptocurrencies. However, the comparison of crypto vs CBDC brings out a much interesting fact that they both are digital assets but have different usage and features when it comes to enterprises.
According to Jose Fernandez da Ponte, the VP and General Manager of Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currency at PayPal, “When PayPal buys Curv, it indicates a formidable investment of efforts in technology and talent to introduce a financial system with better inclusivity”. He further added, “We communicated with the team at Curv and found their technical talent, out-of-the-box thinking underlying their recent technological interventions and most important of all, an entrepreneurial spirit to move ahead”. He expressed excitement over welcoming the Curv team to PayPal.
The CEO and co-founder of Curv, Itay Malinger has stated that accelerated adoption of digital assets calls for accepting PayPal as a suitable path for continuing on their innovation journey. Sources indicate that the deal of PayPal to acquire Curv will most likely close by the first half of 2021.
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PayPal Purchases Curv – How did It Happen?
The crypto push of PayPal has been clearly evident in its partnership with the state-regulated Paxos in New York. Paxos can enable PayPal for purchasing and selling cryptocurrency and is also renowned for looking for prospects in crypto custody acquisition. The most interesting highlight in the present times, in the crypto space primarily revolves around short supply of multi-party computation (MPC) shops such as Fireblocks and Curv. For example, Curv has recently rejected an offer for acquisition by Novi wallet, the crypto arm of Facebook.
Before the news of PayPal purchases Curv, the latter is in partnership with other crypto firms. The association of Curv with firms such as FalconX and eToro showcase its aims for strengthening their presence in Europe. Therefore, the acquisition of Curv can help PayPal with expansion of crypto footprint beyond the US. At the same time, it also aims to widen the range of services it offers presently.
The solution by Curv leverages multiparty computation thereby driving PayPal to acquire Curv. MPC or multiparty computation for custody solution ensures the use of ‘shares’ regarding a cryptographic hashing key, distributed effectively with high confidentiality throughout multiple users, including Curv. A transaction is possible only if a correct set of shares are used together. Now, notable digital asset custody firms are foremost targets for acquisition on the grounds of various reasons. The custody opportunity is considerably larger than cryptocurrency with supportive potential for central bank digital currencies, tokenized securities and different digital assets.
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One of the biggest technology custody firms in terms of funding is Anchorage, based in the US. It has been successful in ensuring that it raised around $80 million in Series C funding. Therefore, the total funds raised by Anchorage amount to almost $137 million which can support the larger plans beyond technology custody. The METACO in Switzerland receives support of Swisscom, Standard Chartered and other players.
Top Reasons of the Acquisition of Curv by PayPal
The cryptocurrency custody solutions feature independent storage and security systems for holding large numbers of security tokens. The custody solutions are comparatively the most recent innovation in the crypto space. They are also expected to signal the entry of institutional capital in the industry. However, many doubts are rift about the outcomes when PayPal purchases Curv.
Users don’t want to compromise with their sensitive or personal information. Custody solutions protect the crypto assets with private keys for conducting transactions and accessing crypto holdings. Private keys are less vulnerable to theft or hacking thereby providing an advantage of blockchain security with custody solutions like Curv.
The next important reason for the focus of PayPal on acquiring Curv is the possibility of losing information. For example, damage to physical custody such as electronic equipment or paper can render all the information inaccessible. So, institutional investors would look at higher risks and subsequently invest the required efforts for safeguards.
Regulation is also a prominent aspect that has been driving the adoption of crypto custody solutions. The selection of a qualified custodian depends on the choices such as savings associations, banks and registered broker or dealers. Potential commission merchants and foreign financial institutions also qualify as custodians.
On the other hand, only a few mainstream banks are offering custodian services such as Kingdom Trust, a custodian based in Kentucky. Initially, it was the largest similar service related to cryptocurrencies before being acquired by BitGo.
What Will be the Impact of this Aquisition?
As you can notice, the news of PayPal purchases Curv comes as an expected outcome with focus on acquisitions. Crypto custody solutions such as Curv are in high demand for the better security and improved storage services for cryptocurrencies. It’s a good introduction to blockchain features and what one can expect from this type of technology.
The services of crypto custody solutions revolve largely around institutional investors such as hedge funds with massive quantities of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. The solutions capitalize on incorporating a mix of hot storage, also referred to as crypto custody with capabilities for connecting to the internet. In addition, the cold storage in crypto custody also provides another function that enhances their appeal to financial players.
In the long run, custody solutions such as Curv would find gradually booming interest from industry experts. The news of PayPal to acquire Curv shows a glimpse of long-term expectations from the collaboration. Most important of all, the new intervention could support efficient link between conventional institutional investment market and the constantly evolving cryptocurrency landscape. Big players are slowly entering the custody solution space with better clarity on regulations thereby signifying promising opportunities ahead!
