PayPal has announced a significant promotional initiative, rolling out a crypto sweepstakes that allocates a total prize pool valued at approximately $1.386 million in Bitcoin. The weekly draws, set to run until late December, will distribute prizes among 1,008 winners, including a top award of $100,000 in BTC. This program is exclusively available to customers based in the United States and is designed as a direct mechanism to spur user activity on the platform.
The sweepstakes marks the first large-scale crypto giveaway launched by PayPal, signaling a competitive push to bolster its standing against established crypto-native exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. By tying the prize mechanism to transaction volume, PayPal aims to convert passive users into active traders and increase its revenue from crypto execution fees.
The focus on US customers aligns with the current legal and operational constraints of running such promotions, though it excludes the company’s vast international user base from participating. Furthermore, all US winners will be responsible for disclosing the fair market value of their prizes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
