The global digital payments maven, PayPal Holdings Inc., is putting a firm foot in the stablecoin market. Being a prominent financial titan with a stellar legacy of over 25 years, it has plans for launching an exclusive US dollar-backed stablecoin, christening it as PayPal USD (PYUSD). The establishment of this stablecoin is on the anvil by Paxos Trust Co., and it will be entirely supported by US dollar bank deposits and other notably liquid equivalents like short-term treasuries.
The previous year, 2020 marked the enthralling entry of PayPal into the crypto sphere with an option for users to effortlessly purchase coins such as Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and Ether (ETH), raising its crypto management stakes to an astounding $1 billion. The intrusion of PayPal into the stablecoin zone is a considerable endorsement for steady adoption, especially with the backdrop of its robust 431 million userbase.
Stablecoins have primarily served crypto speculators as a secure digital asset for holding through trades or as a transferable value asset between wallets or exchanges. These hardly registered any significant penetration in daily transactions, a scenario that PayPal aims to alter. PayPal USD, the latest stablecoin, is redeemable for actual US dollars anytime and facilitates funding purchases on PayPal’s platform and Venmo, a laudable payments app from the stable of PayPal.
Seamless transfers of PYUSD between users’ PayPal and Venmo wallets and other wallets outside of PayPal’s ecosystem are introduced for optimal convenience. The anticipated use of PYUSD initially leans towards web3, with hopes high on substantial societal adoption soon, having remittances and small payments as primary areas.
Insights into the stablecoin sector present an engaging tug-of-war between potential growth and robust regulations, amplified by the recent clearance of a Republican-backed stablecoin bill by the House Financial Services Committee, spearheaded by Committee Chair Patrick McHenry. The bill still hangs in limbo due to inconsistent bipartisan support, while Mr. McHenry appreciates PayPal’s stablecoin initiative, emphasizing the potential of stablecoins under a rigid regulatory framework.
Amid the bill’s uncertainty, regulatory lucidity would indeed be a stepping stone for the stablecoin market, currently grappling with the controversy eroding investor confidence. As the prominent stablecoin issuer Tether remains under scrutiny over token security, the dramatic crumbling of web3 ecosystem Terra’s UST algorithmic stablecoin has left retail investors bereft of billions. Could PayPal’s entry act as the necessary game-changer? Only time shall tell.
Source: Cryptonews