PayPal Takes a Step Into Crypto with PYUSD Stablecoin
9 August 2023
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PayPal is launching a stablecoin, the first by a major finance company. This could potentially boost the slow adoption of digital tokens for payments. Named PayPal USD (PYUSD), it is issued by Paxos Trust and fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries, and similar cash equivalents. The new coin is tied to the value of the dollar and will gradually become available to PayPal customers in the US.
CEO Dan Schulman wants to strengthen PayPal's position in digital payments with technology that permits instant, lower-cost transfers without a central mediator. Despite a 33% dip in PayPal shares over the last year, Schulman believes PYUSD could become a part of the overall payments infrastructure.
Stablecoins, crypto tokens pegged to assets like the dollar, haven't made significant headway in consumer payments so far. They're typically used by traders to transfer digital assets between exchanges. The market, worth roughly $126 billion, is dominated by Tether's USDT, which holds a 67.2% market share.
PYUSD is designed to always be redeemable for dollars and can also be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies on PayPal's network. It can be used to fund purchases and will soon be compatible with PayPal's popular app Venmo. Users will be able to move their token holdings between a PayPal and a Venmo wallet. The coin can also be moved to compatible third-party wallets outside the PayPal network. As it stands, PayPal supports over 431 million active accounts worldwide and launched cryptocurrency services in 2020. Read more here and here.
Maximizing Crypto's Potential
The introduction of PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD signals a considerable move towards mainstream acceptance of digital currencies.
It's also important to note that stablecoins are usually not true cryptocurrencies in and of themselves—they're more of a digital dollar, as they're pegged ("backed") to a local fiat currency such as USD, managed by centralized companies, such as PayPal and Paxos in this case.
Stablecoins like PYUSD have struggled to penetrate the consumer payments sector, despite their potential for cheap and quick money transfers.
Zucoins, with its goal of being user-friendly and efficient, have understood this for several years, by ensuring its technology is not just innovative, but also easily understandable.
It has to be usable for the average person and extendable by third-parties for their own use cases.
By focusing on user experience and extendability, Zucoins are looking to differentiate themselves at a time when many people find cryptocurrencies daunting and complicated.
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All the best,
Peter & Rob
MyZucoins
Disclaimer: Of course, this is not advice, financial or otherwise. It’s also important to consider the risks and challenges associated with any potential benefits.