Payments giant PayPal is considering to acquire startup Curv, which offers secure storage for Cryptocurrencies , for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Multiple anonymous sources have confirmed to Israeli media Calcalist and crypto-focused news outlet Coindesk about the possibility of the acquisition deal. However, neither PayPal nor Curv officially made any confirmation.
But, sources of the media outlets are divided on the amount which PayPal is offering the crypto startup. While one is outlining that the deal could be closed for anywhere between $200 million and $300 million, another is expecting the offer to be as high as $500 million.
“From where I’m hearing it, I’m pretty sure it’s true,” a Coindesk source said, who is expecting the payout to be $500 million.
Founded in 2018, Curv is headquartered in New York, but its research and development offices are located in Tel-Aviv. The two-year-old startup promotes its multi-party computation (MPC) security technology, which includes hot and cold wallet deployment, and keyless security infrastructure backed by a team of cryptographers and cybersecurity experts.
The startup closed its Series A funding round last October, raising $30 million from an array of venture capitals.
PayPal's Crypto Ambitions
PayPal’s interest in crypto startups grew with the launch of its cryptocurrency services, which allows users to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin and a few other top digital currencies. The company tapped Paxos for facilitating its crypto services.
Moreover, the payments company made an attempt to purchase crypto custodian platform BitGo earlier, but that deal did not see the light.
Meanwhile, PayPal is slowly expanding its crypto services for its international userbase and is already on track to launch the services in the United Kingdom. Apart from buying and selling services, the company plans to allow crypto payments at all its global merchant partners.
