PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin launches on the Solana blockchain

credit: Shutterstock
credit: Shutterstock

PayPal is making its native stablecoin, PYUSD, more accessible after announcing that it will be launching on one of the most popular blockchain networks, Solana

The financial service announced the launch during the Consensus event in Austin, Texas yesterday enabling PYUSD to be faster and cheaper to use, allowing more flexibility for its use. 

PayPal revealed it chose the Solana network due to the blockchain processing “massive amounts of transactions at high speeds with extremely low costs”. 

This has placed Solana as one of the most popular and widely used blockchain’s in the industry for stablecoin transfers, providing the capabilities for tokenized transactions. PYUSD’s launch on Solana enables the stablecoin to perform optimally and further its goal of creating more adoption for digital currency transactions. 

Jose Fernandez da Ponte, SVP of the Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currency Group, PayPal, stated:  “For more than 25 years, PayPal has been at the forefront of digital commerce, revolutionising commerce by providing a trusted experience between consumers and merchants around the world.

“PayPal USD was created with the intent to revolutionise commerce again by providing a fast, easy, and inexpensive payment method for the next evolution of the digital economy.

“Making PYUSD available on the Solana blockchain furthers our goal of enabling a digital currency with a stable value designed for commerce and payments.”

PYUSD on Solana allows PayPal and Venmo wallet holders to now have a streamlined process to interact with the stablecoin. Users are provided with greater access to transfer PYUSD from their respective wallets to other external wallets.

In addition to the PayPal and Venmo wallets, Crypto.com, Phantom and Paxos are three other platforms to buy PYUSD on Solana, further establishing a seamless experience for users to perform fiat-to-crypto transactions, and vice-versa.

Sheraz Shere, GM of Payments at the Solana Foundation, added: “The Solana network’s speed and scalability make it the ideal blockchain for new payment solutions that are accessible, cost-effective, and instantaneous. 

“Continued adoption from industry participants like PayPal helps realise the next generation of fintech innovation.”

PayPal shook the financial and digital asset industries last August by announcing the launch of PYUSD, becoming the first high-profile financial service to launch a native stablecoin. 

Pegged 1:1 with the US dollar, PayPal asserted that PYUSD’s launch was not to compete with the likes of USDT and USDC, but rather to drive adoption for digital currency usage and transactions, as well as adoption.

Whilst the stablecoin market has experienced significant growth with more private parties issuing their own digital currencies, this has regulators concerned over its control and standing next to traditional and fiat currencies. 

US regulators have been keen to formalise legislation as early as this year to keep up with stablecoins’ surging growth, as many believe in Congress that they could cause major instability to its financial system.