Reddit Users Fume at Details of PayPal Crypto ‘Lockout’ Case

A Reddit user has claimed they have been “permanently banned” from the PayPal platform “due to cryptocurrency buy/sells being treated as ‘item sales.’”

Per a thread created by the Redditor, the PayPal customer claimed that they wanted others to be aware of what they called an “ignorance-fueled misunderstanding,” and claimed that they did not exceed any of PayPal’s transaction limit thresholds, instead buying and selling “USD 10,000 worth of crypto throughout the week” at a rate of “less than USD 500 per transaction.”

The Redditor claimed that they had been unable to speak to customer services representative about the matter and wrote,

“They genuinely think I made item sales worth that much, it’s why they asked me for purchase receipts for each of these crypto transactions as if I shipped something.”

In the same thread, some users expressed concerns that PayPal – which has recently entered the crypto sector in the United States – may be unsuitable for some crypto traders.

One commenter wrote,

“This is why I don’t trust PayPal and their centralized design. They already suck with eBay transactions: How does crypto make it any different for them? Can already see people buying crypto and getting banned from them for some really dumb shit and them kicking you off and keeping your crypto.”

Another opined that PayPal’s decision to freeze accounts for 180 days when the platform detects what it determines is unusual behavior “could be enough to stop you cashing out life-changing sums during a bull run.”

And another opined that the rules that the financial sector needs to abide by simply do not apply to platforms like PayPal, writing,

“People need to stop thinking they have bank-like options with PayPal, they are a private entity and they only comply with their own terms.”

As reported, users own the cryptoasset they buy on PayPal but will not be provided with a private key. Also, currently, users can only hold the cryptoasset they buy on PayPal in their account. It cannot be transferred to other accounts on or off PayPal. Moreover, at this time, crypto can’t be used as a way to pay or send money on PayPal.

Cryptonews.com has contacted PayPal with a request for comment and will update this article if an answer is forthcoming.
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