PayPal purchases digital asset security firm Curv

Payments giant PayPal has acquired Israel-based digital asset security firm Curv for an undisclosed amount.

According to PayPal, the firm purchased Curv as part of its initiative to support cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The platform said it plans to complete the acquisition before the third quarter of 2021, but did not disclose the purchase amount. Israel-based media outlet Calcalist said last week that Curv may have sold for between $200 million and $300 million, with CNBC reporting on Monday that “The deal is worth less than $200 million.”

"The acquisition of Curv is part of our effort to invest in the talent and technology to realize our vision for a more inclusive financial system," said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager of PayPal’s crypto and blockchain division. "During our conversations with Curv's team, we've been impressed by their technical talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and the thinking behind the technology they've built in the last few years.”

Many publications citing anonymous sources "familiar with the matter" broke the news of PayPal’s Curv acquisition earlier this month. However, some investors mistook the acquisition of the crypto firm with that of the native token of decentralized finance protocol Curve Finance. The price of Curve’s CRV token rose more than 10% to $2.60 within an hour of the news breaking but has since fallen to $2.35. 

The Curv acquisition follows PayPal’s expansion into the crypto space. In October 2020, the platform first announced that its customers would be able to use cryptocurrencies to shop at any merchant in its network beginning in 2021. Residents of the United States can currently use the payments platform for buying and selling crypto, but PayPal said it would soon be expanding these services to the United Kingdom.

The price of PayPal’s stock has fallen more than 15% in March, from $273.63 to $230.57 at the time of publication.

Cointelegraph reached out to both PayPal and Curv for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.