PayPal's crypto integration means Bitcoin could triple its user base

Bitcoin price has again punched through the $13,000 mark after yesterday's PayPal's announcement sparked a powerful rally which drove the price to a new 2020 high.

Currently sitting near $13,100, Bitcoin price has rallied nearly 10% since the announcement and BTC is now close to overtaking PayPal as the 21st biggest asset by market capitalization.

PayPal's crypto announcement comes two weeks after Square, another payments giant, announced its own foray into Bitcoin by investing roughly 1% of its assets into Bitcoin.

The recent news from PayPal is more likely to bring the masses to Bitcoin, rather than Bitcoin to institutions.

This is because PayPal may bring a more mainstream audience up to speed with the cryptocurrency as an investment vehicle for now and as a payment method in the future, which has been one of the main focus of the Bitcoin community when it comes to mass adoption.

While it is only possible to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin through PayPal for the time being, the company announced that it would be adding cryptocurrency payment and transfers in 2021.

Transacting through PayPal and other centralized platforms could even become one of the ways in which Bitcoin is able to scale to a mainstream user base.

To date, the prices of Bitcoin and Ether have appreciated by 80.5% and 217%. Meanwhile, PayPal rallied 99% and Square 186%. Banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America, on the other hand, have lost 28% and 32% respectively.

As a growing number of people interact with Bitcoin as an investment vehicle, it is possible that consumers will turn their backs to banks and invest in cryptocurrency.

According to experts, Bitcoin may even benefit from what some call the 'Robinhood effect', a phenomenon where retail investors with disposable income purchase an asset via fee-free, gamified investing platforms in order to avoid the rigamarole frequently associated with banks.