PayPal Launches PYUSD Stablecoin
Global payment giant PayPal has unexpectedly announced the launch of its own stablecoin named PayPal USD (PYUSD).
Based on newly disclosed information, PayPal USD (PYUSD) is a US dollar-backed stablecoin, collateralized by short-term US Treasury bonds and other cash-equivalent assets. This model mirrors traditional stablecoins popular today such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).
PYUSD is reportedly an ERC-20 token built on the Ethereum platform.
PYUSD is being issued by PayPal in collaboration with Paxos, the stablecoin company behind Binance USD (BUSD), which was previously instructed by US regulators to halt operations. The stablecoin initiative had been long contemplated by both PayPal and Paxos, seemingly shelved after Paxos encountered regulatory issues with US authorities in February 2023.
"As an ERC-20 token issued on the Ethereum blockchain, PayPal USD will be available to an already large and growing community of external developers, wallets and web3 applications, and will be deployed to power experiences within the PayPal ecosystem."https://t.co/9Vs4kcs97H https://t.co/bFV0kpZojU
— Tree News (@News_Of_Alpha) August 7, 2023
Today, we’re unveiling a new stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD). It’s designed for payments and is backed by highly liquid and secure assets. Starting today and rolling out in the next few weeks, you’ll be able to buy, sell, hold and transfer PYUSD. Learn more https://t.co/53RRBhmNHx pic.twitter.com/53ur2KmjU7
— PayPal (@PayPal) August 7, 2023
According to the smart contract of PYUSD released by PayPal, this stablecoin has been in circulation since November 2022, with a current total supply of $26.9 million, entirely held in Paxos's wallet at the time of writing.
Paxos announced the contract address of the PayPal stablecoin PYUSD, the total supply of the token on Ethereum now is 26.9 million.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 8, 2023
The data on the chain shows that Paxos mint 1.1 million PYUSD for the first time in November 2022, and then conducted multiple small transfer…
Initially, the stablecoin was launched in a limited capacity within the US market through the PayPal app, with plans to extend support to money transfers via the Venmo app. PayPal envisions PYUSD finding utility in the crypto and Web3 space, facilitating functions such as purchasing goods and trading cryptocurrency tokens before broader adoption.
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman believes PYUSD will help the company strengthen its dominant position in electronic payments by providing a method for users to transfer money swiftly via blockchain without intermediaries.
Starting September, PayPal will begin providing asset collateral verification reports for PYUSD.
As reported by Coin68, PayPal is among the few financial companies directly involved in the cryptocurrency market at present.
Since enabling customers to buy and hold major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) since 2021, PayPal has expanded options for users to transfer crypto among each other within its payment network. All these features were subsequently integrated into the Venmo payment app.
In May 2023, PayPal reported holdings of nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies on behalf of customers, predominantly in BTC and ETH.
