PayPal says it will allow customers to buy, sell and hold the crypto currency and rival virtual coins in its online wallets.

The service will be available to US customers in the coming weeks and some other countries in the first half of 2021 from early next year.

People will also be able to use the digital currencies at the 26 million merchants on the papal network.

Company Chief Executive Dan Shulman says he hopes that will encourage global use off Bitcoin and the like.

He says he's working with global central banks on how PayPal can help drive that Cryptocurrencies have so far failed to catch on for everyday use.

Their extreme volatility makes them attractive to speculators, but not so much shoppers or merchants.

Companies, including payments, provide a square and stock trading app.

Robin Hood do already allow users to buy and sell digital coins, but now PayPal's vast reach could be a game changer.

It has 346 million active accounts worldwide and processed $222 billion in payments.

Just in the second quarter.

Crypto currency transactions on PayPal will be settled in regular currencies such as the U.

S dollar, meaning merchants won't get paid in virtual coins.