PayPal Expands Cryptocurrency Offerings
Global payments platform PayPal has expanded its cryptocurrency offerings to include Chainlink (LINK) and Solana (SOL), giving US-based users the ability to buy, sell and transfer the popular tokens. Support for LINK and SOL will be rolled out over the next few weeks and will also be extended to users of Venmo, a US mobile payment platform owned by PayPal, the company disclosed on April 4.
Roughly 83 million people used Venmo at least once in 2023, according to the latest available information from PayPal. PayPal’s global reach extends to roughly 428 million accounts as of December, the majority of which are in the United States. The company’s crypto services are available only to US residents. PayPal is expanding its crypto offerings in response to growing consumer demand, according to May Zabaneh, an executive in PayPal’s crypto and blockchain division. “Offering more tokens on PayPal and Venmo provides users with greater flexibility, choice, and access to digital currencies,” she said. PayPal’s US crypto offerings now include seven digital assets in total, including its payment stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD).
PayPal’s Stablecoin Push
The launch of PYUSD in 2023 solidified PayPal’s entry into the cryptocurrency market. Roughly one year after its launch, PYUSD surpassed $1 billion in total market capitalization for the first time. Since then, PYUSD’s circulating supply has fallen to around $760 million, according to industry data.
To demonstrate the utility of PYUSD, PayPal settled an invoice with global consulting firm Ernst & Young in October for an undisclosed amount. At the time, PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, said “The enterprise environment is very well-suited” for stablecoin payments. Despite PYUSD’s modest circulating supply compared to stablecoin leaders USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), the company’s involvement in the sector cannot be understated, according to Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Boiron credited companies like PayPal and Stripe for catalyzing stablecoin adoption at a time when regulators and enterprises were still uncertain about the technology.