Sure, every account is an asset but the assets in accounts have to be recorded as liabilities - that is why they had losses way in excess of the cash they raise

Sure, every account is an asset but the assets in accounts have to be recorded as liabilities - that is why they had losses way in excess of the cash they raised. The point of the article is PayPal ran risks (violating banking laws, risking a run on their cash) an established company never could have.