Sept 25 (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings ( PYPL ) announced

on Wednesday it is enabling U.S. merchants to buy, hold and sell

cryptocurrency from their business accounts.

Cryptocurrency has moved from being a nascent asset class

towards greater market acceptance after bitcoin exchange traded

funds were approved for listing by the U.S. SEC earlier in the

year.

"Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for

the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers,"

said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of

Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies at PayPal ( PYPL ).

PayPal ( PYPL ) joined the cryptocurrency market in 2020, allowing

customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other virtual coins

using the digital payments company's online wallets.

The company became the first major financial technology firm

to embrace digital currencies for payments and transfers when it

launched its dollar-backed stablecoin in August 2023.

Stablecoins are crypto tokens whose monetary value is pegged

to a stable asset to protect potential investors from wild

swings in prices.

San Jose, California-based PayPal ( PYPL ) is also enabling U.S.

merchants to transfer cryptocurrency on chain externally to

third party eligible wallets.

However, the services would not be available for business

accounts in New York State at launch, the company said on its

website.

Shares of the company have gained nearly 26% so far this

year.