Raynor de Best
Content expert covering payments and (crypto)currencies
PayPal's stablecoin - statistics & facts
PayPal launched its digital token with a peg to the dollar - or stablecoin - on August 7, 2023, becoming the first fintech from the United States to do so. The move sparked immediate curiosity in the crypto community as PayPal ranks among the world's largest fintechs, potentially signaling a breakthrough for blockchain technology in payments. Stablecoins get their backing from a commodity such as gold or fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. This way, the digital coin keeps a consistent (stable) price. Cryptocurrency is more volatile as value comes from coin supply and investor demand. PayPal joins a market that is substantially smaller in market cap than that of Bitcoin, and where established stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USC Coin (USDC) dominate the market. Nevertheless, PayPal's senior vice president and crypto exec observed that "Stablecoins are something that we cannot just sit out." Why does PayPal say this? And is this indeed a potential breakthrough for blockchain-based payments?
PayPal USD's promise of regulation
As of August 2023, no statistics yet exist on PayPal USD. U.S. customers of PayPal can buy the token directly as it rolls out from August 2023 onwards - which they can then use for payments, export it to crypto wallets, or convert them to other supported cryptocurrencies. There are comparisons with Binance's discontinued stablecoin BUSD. Both stablecoins have/had Paxos, a trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services, as its issuer. A regulator on top of the token is the appeal of - and PayPal's main selling point for - PayPal USD. This comes in a year where regulatory investigations on the crypto market, including Coinbasese, increased following the fall of stablecoin LUNA during the summer of 2022 and the collapse of FTX in November 2022. Note that regulators ordered Paxos to stop issuing the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin in February 2023, six months before PayPal USD arrives.PayPal USD joins a line of ongoing use case experiments in digital currency
Digital currency involves two aspects. First, cryptocurrency and stablecoins come from private individuals or companies - typically they are decentralized. Crypto payments are to grow at a CAGR of nearly 17 percent between 2022 and 2029, although the market has little to no use cases in retail being observed yet across various countries. Second, central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are tokens developed and issued by monetary authorities to replace fiat currencies. Examples are the digital euro or Nigeria's e-Naira. The CBDC market size is forecast to increase by 260,000 percent between 2023 and 2030. Sources in 2023 suggest that CBDC penetration has been incredibly low in the few countries that already have them. Tests continue as industry experts hope stablecoins or CBDC will improve the payment experience and cross-border payments.
