Despite market challenges, PayPal remains committed to expanding PYUSD’s use cases, positioning it as a reliable payment solution for merchants worldwide.
By Chimamanda U. Martha
Edited by Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 mins read
The battle for stablecoin dominance is heating up, and PayPal is stepping up its game. The payments giant is working to bring its PayPal USD stablecoin PYUSD $1.00 24h volatility: 0.0% Market cap: $802.83 M Vol. 24h: $58.34 M to more merchants this year, aiming to strengthen its position against established players like Tether and Circle.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Michelle Gill, PayPal’s general manager for small business and financial services group, revealed that the company plans to integrate PYUSD into 20 million small and medium-sized businesses as part of its expansion strategy for 2025.
The payment giant introduced PYUSD in August 2023, specifically for payments. Initially, the stablecoin was only available on Ethereum, but to improve accessibility and lower transaction costs, PayPal added support for the Solana blockchain in May 2024.
The expansion continued until this January when the company brought the stablecoin to Cardano. The move was intended to make PYUSD more useful for everyday purchases and business transactions.
Last year, the stablecoin, which is fully backed by US dollar reserves, short-term Treasuries, and cash equivalents, reached a market cap of over $1 billion.
However, due to a broader market downturn which saw Bitcoin BTC $83 877 24h volatility: 3.5% Market cap: $1.66 T Vol. 24h: $33.41 B drop below $85,000 over the weekend, PYUSD’s market cap has since declined to about $704 million, as per CoinMarketCap data.
Despite this setback, PayPal remains committed to expanding the stablecoin’s adoption. Gill told Bloomberg that much of PYUSD’s future growth will come from international transactions, as US merchants increasingly look for means to pay overseas suppliers without the hassle of currency conversions.
“A lot of the payments we’re expecting are going to be cross-border because merchants in the US are seeking to pay vendors and suppliers abroad. The thesis was: Can we facilitate that on PYUSD rails so as not to have the currency conversion, the friction, as well as time?” Gill said.
To support this expansion, PayPal will integrate PYUSD into Hyperwallet, a payment service that helps businesses send mass payouts to others including freelancers, contractors, and sellers globally.
PayPal acquired Hyperwallet in 2018 for $400 million and expects to roll out PYUSD payouts through the platform in the first half of this year.
Additionally, the company plans to enable merchants to settle PayPal checkout transactions in cryptocurrencies by the end of 2025, further integrating digital assets into its ecosystem.
“We’ve been talking about blockchains for like a decade now — the concept of these things never becomes real until you actually can start to spend it. And I think that’s what we’re enabling,” PayPal CEO Alex Chriss told Bloomberg.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Chimamanda is a crypto enthusiast and experienced writer focusing on the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies. She joined the industry in 2019 and has since developed an interest in the emerging economy. She combines her passion for blockchain technology with her love for travel and food, bringing a fresh and engaging perspective to her work.
