PayPal launches dollar-based stablecoin on Ethereum

PayPal has today announced the launch of PayPal USD (PYUSD) – a US dollar-denominated stablecoin. 

The new stablecoin will be issued by Paxos Trust Co. and backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and similar cash equivalents. The new coin, built on Ethereum and “designed for digital payments and Web3”, will be available soon to American customers.

Over the coming weeks, eligible US PayPal customers who buy PayPal USD will be able to:

• Transfer PayPal USD between PayPal and compatible external wallets  
• Send person-to-person payments using PYUSD
• Fund purchases with PayPal USD by selecting it at checkout2
• Convert any of PayPal’s supported cryptos to and from PayPal USD. 

PayPal’s president and CEO Dan Schulman said: “The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the U.S. dollar.

“Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments through PayPal USD.” 

PayPal adds: “As the only stablecoin supported within the PayPal network, PayPal USD leverages PayPal’s decades-long experience in payments at scale, combined with the speed, cost and programmability of blockchain protocols.

“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, can be easily adopted by exchanges, and will be deployed to power experiences within the PayPal ecosystem.  

“PayPal USD is designed to reduce friction for in-experience payments in virtual environments, facilitate fast transfers of value to support friends and family, send remittances or conduct international payments, enable direct flows to developers and creators, and foster the continued expansion into digital assets by the largest brands in the world.

“Most of the current volume of stablecoins is used in web3-specific environments – PayPal USD will be compatible with that ecosystem from day one and will soon be available on Venmo.”