PayPal expands stablecoin rails with custom token issuance platform
PayPal has launched a platform for businesses to issue custom stablecoins, expanding its footprint in the crypto-payments sector. The initiative aims to compete with major stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle by leveraging PayPal's existing infrastructure.
Why it matters
This move signals a broader institutional push to integrate blockchain-based stablecoins into mainstream financial payment rails.
The platform, which gives any business the infrastructure to start a custom stablecoin backed by PayPal USD PYUSD $ 0.9995 , was first teased back in February.
It’s now going live with tokens issued by crypto native firms Saturn , Concrete and Cap ; which bring over $100 million of processed volume to the platform, according to a press release.
As the existing financial world comes onchain, competition is growing beyond the two major stablecoin issuers: Tether and Circle Internet (CRCL). Established payments companies are searching for a strategic advantage, particularly given the aggressive approach taken by payments giant Stripe, for instance.
PayPal, which CoinDesk revealed was the first payments institution to start offering crypto back in 2020, finds itself at a crossroads, where the sensible move is to partner with crypto specialists like M0 and Moonpay and double down on the tech.
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