PayPal denies misinformation fines; crypto community outraged by plans.

PayPal said the notice about plans to fine users up to $2,500 for misinformation was erroneous. The crypto community criticised the payments giant and reminded of the importance of decentralisation.

Hi there! We understand you’re worried about the recent update. An AUP notice recently went out in error that included incorrect information. PayPal is not fining people for misinformation. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused. ^YS

— PayPal Support (@AskPayPal) October 9, 2022

PayPal clarified that the updated Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) contained incorrect information. The document was allegedly published in error, and the company will not fine users for disseminating misinformation.

Former PayPal president and former head of Meta’s payments division, David Marcus, called the initiative \”madness\”.

\u201cIt\’s hard for me to openly criticise a company to which I\’ve given so much and loved so much. Yet the new AUP contradicts everything I believe in. A private company now decides to take your money if you say something they disagree with,\u201d he wrote.

Agreed

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2022

PayPal co-founder, billionaire Elon Musk, agreed with Marcus.

Mapple Finance co-founder Sid Powell called the incident a reminder of the need for decentralisation.

\u201cPayPal is a good example of why you need to have control over your own funds. Your money used to be detached from free speech. Now storing your assets is the only way to safeguard this right for yourself,\u201d he wrote.

PayPal is a good example of why you need to custody your own funds. Your finances used to be decoupled from free speech. Now custodying your own funds is the only way to safeguard that right for yourself

— Sid Powell (🥩 🥞) (@syrupsid) October 9, 2022

The end of PayPal.
Buy #Bitcoin.

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 9, 2022

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe called the payments giant’s decision \u201cthe end of PayPal\u201d and urged buying Bitcoin.

The end of PayPal.
Buy #Bitcoin.

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 9, 2022

In PayPal’s defence, CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors argued that all companies censor users and have the right to refuse service and access to anyone without explanation.

\u201cIf you think the crypto industry is immune, you\’re either naive or willfully ignorant,\u201d she wrote.

3/ and if you think crypto is immune you’re either naive or willfully ignorant

currently, 31% of post-merge Ethereum blocks are OFAC-compliant, meaning they censor transactions associated with specific contracts and addresses on a state-sponsored listhttps://t.co/0bHi5wc2BP

— Meltem Demirors (@Melt_Dem) October 9, 2022

Demirors noted that the activation of The Merge upgrade, more than 31% of blocks in the Ethereum network are under the control of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury (OFAC).

She also reminded of OFAC sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash and said this is not the first or the last incident.

Earlier, PayPal vice-president Richard Nash said the company making every effort to embed into its services all possible integrations with blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Back in March, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said that digital assets will revolutionise the global financial system.

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