Paypal better have something unique to offer to get ahead of the game in my opinion. Does not matter whether you joined the cryptocurrency train, if you are just another platform that offer the same services, time will come for you eventually. I have my hopes on Paypal that they will do something because as OP said, the race is on. You need to use what you can to get ahead of the game.
They have the popularity and influence. That is enough for them to stick with this industry. More people would be exposed to this technology because of PayPal which is a network on mainstream. Other big exchangers will surely have advantages over paypal when it comes to fees and convenience but since they offer more "assurance" and popularity, there will be people who will engage to them than other platforms for this technology. Further developments are another side of the story.
This is quite correct but what if other big networks do the same thing? I am referring to other networks which also has popularity and are also in mainstream. There are also tendencies for them to do so, once they notice how beneficial this technology is, more likely they would also go with the adaptation in order to also generate profit from it. There are also chances that big companies are eyeing for crypto adoption because 'one' already did. But in our side, if there will be more companies to do so, more people would be able to use Bitcoin and other cryptos to daily services which I think is promising.