Michaël van de Poppe

PayPal says policy to punish users for misinformation was ‘in error’

Despite the retraction, the crypto community said the policy is a perfect example of why decentralization and self-custody of funds are so important.

Online payment network PayPal has reneged on a controversial policy that could’ve seen users fined $2,500 for spreading “misinformation,” with the payment platform claiming the policy update was published “in error.”

The now retracted misinformation clause in PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) was set to take effect on Nov. 3, which would have expanded its list of prohibited activities to include “the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content, or materials” that “promotes misinformation.”

PayPal has since told multiple outlets reporting on the clause that the updated AUP went out in error and included incorrect information, clarifying that it would not fine its users for spreading misinformation:

“PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy. […] Our teams are working to correct our policy pages. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused.”

The controversy has spread like wildfire on Twitter among both crypto and non-crypto observers, with some continuing to comment on the issue even after the retraction. 

David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark and former president of PayPal, called it “insanity” that “a private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with.”

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and former co-founder of PayPal, responded to Marcus’ tweet with “Agreed.”

Sid Powell, co-founder of Maple Finance, said the case at hand provides a textbook example as to why it is essential to have custody over your own funds.

Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of crypto consulting and education platform Eight, kept his opinion short and sweet, calling it “The end of PayPal.”

Related: Business owners should get off PayPal and move to the blockchain

But not everyone considered PayPal’s now-retracted clause to be dishonorable to its users.

Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer of digital asset investment firm CoinShares, said that in any event, companies have the right to choose who can use their services without explanation:

“And if you think crypto is immune you’re either naive or willfully ignorant,” she said, adding:

“Currently, 31% of post-merge Ethereum blocks are OFAC-compliant, meaning they censor transactions associated with specific contracts and addresses on a state-sponsored list.”

While the implementation of a fine would’ve been a first for PayPal, the payment giant is no stranger to deplatforming users it isn’t politically aligned with, having cut ties with domain registrar Epik, which provided services to the Proud Boys and other far-right groups, in October 2020.

Similarly to the broader stock market, PayPal shares have plummeted 64.65% over the last 12 months, according to Yahoo Finance.

The Nasdaq is due to reopen on Oct. 10 at 1:30 pm UTC, so it remains to be seen whether the clause and its subsequent retraction will impact PayPal’s share price.

Bitcoin is a ‘wild card’ set to outperform —Bloomberg analyst

The commodity strategist has pegged Bitcoin to rebound strongly from the bear market despite headwinds for high-risk assets.

Bloomberg analyst Mike McGlone has labeled Bitcoin (BTC) a “wild card” which is “ripe” to outperform once traditional stocks finally bottom out. 

In a Wednesday post on Linkedin and Twitter, McGlone explained that while the United States Federal Reserve tightening will likely determine the direction of the stock market, Bitcoin remains a “wildcard” that could buck the trend, stating:

“Bitcoin is a wild card that’s more ripe to outperform when stocks bottom, but transitioning to be more like gold and bonds.”

The commodities strategist shared more details in a Wednesday report, which noted that Bitcoin was primed to rebound strongly from the bear market despite a “strong headwind” toward high-risk assets:

“It’s typically a matter of time for the fed funds gauge to flip toward cuts, and when it does, Bitcoin is poised to be a primary beneficiary.”

The report notes that while Bitcoin would follow a similar trend to treasury bonds and gold, Ether (ETH) “may have a higher correlation with stocks.”

The Federal Reserve’s increased quantitative tightening comes amid several major interest rate hikes throughout 2022, with the most recent spike accounting for a 75 basis points increase on July 27.

While it is not known exactly when the Fed’s quantitative tightening will end, some economists predicted the endpoint will begin “at some point in 2023” according to a Bloomberg article published in August. 

Quantitative tightening is a contractionary monetary policy tool that is used by central banks to reduce the level of money supply and liquidity in an economy, which can reduce spending across markets such as stocks. 

Related: Bitcoin likely to transition to a risk-off asset in H2 2022, says Bloomberg analyst

Despite Bloomberg’s bullish take, however, other experts believe that Bitcoin and equity markets have actually become more correlated than before.

Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe recently said the correlation between the S&P 500 index and BTC was approaching 100%, while a number of IMF economists claimed to have seen a 10-fold increase in correlation between crypto and equity markets in some regions of the world.