Trading Cryptocurrency Through Venmo
Venmo has come a long way since 2009, when it was originally launched as a payment system that did simple things like helping friends split dinner bills. Venmo now processes hundreds of billions of dollars in payments annually.
Venmo became popular because of its ease of use, its social appeal (it acts like a kind of payment-oriented social media platform), and because it doesn’t cost anything for the most part.
In the past several years, Venmo has branched into other areas of finance, including allowing for customer to business transactions and offering MasterCard credit cards.
Starting in 2021, Venmo has moved into the cryptocurrency market, allowing Venmo users to buy, hold, and sell some of the most popular forms of cryptocurrency currently available, including:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Bitcoin Cash
- Litecoin
Buying Cryptocurrency Through Venmo
Venmo’s has created a streamlined process for buying cryptocurrency compared to other crypto exchanges and wallets, many of which can be cumbersome to verify identity and to fund accounts using outside sources.
When buying cryptocurrency through Venmo, you’ll need to provide identity credentials. Venmo is making its cryptocurrency trading features available to a limited number of users at first, then rolling it out to a wider audience, likely after it gets more experience with the potential pitfalls of allowing users to trade cryptocurrency.
To buy one of the four crypto coins available through Venmo, you’ll need to do the following:
- open the Venmo app and select the “Crypto” option from the menu
- choose the crypto flavor you want and make a crypto purchase, using as little as $1
- agree to the “Venmo Cryptocurrencies Terms and Conditions”
- verify your identity to Venmo, which includes providing your legal first name, legal last name, date of birth, last four digits of your social security number, and your current street address; it’s possible (likely) that Venmo will also ask for a valid identification, such as a driver license.
Selling Cryptocurrency on Venmo
Selling your cryptocurrency through the Venmo app is fairly easy. It’s a similar process to buying, except in the opposite direction. You can sell your Venmo held cryptocurrency in exchange for one of the other three coins available through Venmo, or turn it into cash.
