The Payments giant will “temporarily pause” the ability for customers to purchase crypto on its platform from October 1 as it works to meet the requirements of the new regulations, which come into effect on October 8

Payments giant PayPal will stop allowing UK customers to buy crypto currencies through its platform from October as it works to adhere to new rules on crypto promotions.

UK’s financial watchdog is due to bring in stricter rules to restrict the way crypto is advertised to the country’s consumers, including requiring crypto companies to carry caution about the risk and removing “refer a friend” bonuses.

PayPal will “temporarily pause” the ability for customers to purchase crypto on its platform from October 1 as it works to meet the requirements of the new regulations, which come into effect on October 8, it stated in an email to customers on Tuesday. It added it expects to re-start in “early 2024”.

PayPal constantly works closely with regulators across the world to abide by applicable rules and regulations in the markets in which we operate, it told customers in the email.

The payments firm stated customers could hold and sell their crypto “at any time.”

PayPal first launched crypto buying and selling in the UK in 2021.

Regulators across the world are increasingly seeking to regulate crypto assets after the failure of a number of crypto companies including FTX in 2022 left amateur investors with sizeable losses.

After token prices slipped sharply in 2022, the price of leading crypto currency bitcoin has slowly recouped, up nearly 76 per cent so far this year. However, its price is at less than half the all-time peak hit in November 2021.

Earlier in August, PayPal’s shares got a push when it announced that it has launched a U.S. dollar stablecoin – a type of crypto currency designed to keep a constant price by being pegged to a stable asset.