PayPal Stablecoin Launchpad PYUSDx Reaches $100 Million Volume

PayPal stablecoin infrastructure expanded on Sept. 9 as PYUSDx went live with more than $100 million in processed volume.

The developer platform, built with M0 and MoonPay, launched with Saturn, Concrete, and Cap. It allows businesses to create configurable onchain products backed by PayPal USD.

The launch gives PayPal another route to expand PYUSD beyond its existing circulation of roughly $2.9 billion.

PayPal Stablecoin Launchpad Built for Developers

According to the announcement, traditional stablecoins are narrowly designed and cannot serve as programmable money. With PYUSDx, the firms intend to change that by enabling programmable dollars.

M0 built the onchain infrastructure for PYUSDx, while MoonPay is responsible for PYUSD reserves backing PYUSDx. The platform already had three projects, Saturn, Concrete, and Cap, with two others, USD.AI and Fairblock, also expected.

Concrete is an onchain vault infrastructure that uses automated systems to allocate capital across DeFi protocols, while Saturn is a structured finance protocol built on digital credit that gives users exposure to Strategy STRC.

While PayPal’s PYUSD powers all these protocols, each project has full control over how to configure the tokenized dollar to fit its products. Interestingly, PYUSDx can also be swapped for PYUSD and USDC onchain.

The programmability of PYUSDx means businesses can easily integrate it and build an ecosystem around the stablecoin to meet their needs. Saturn token is USDat while Concrete has concUSD.

PayPal Struggles as TradFi Interest in Stablecoins Intensifies

Meanwhile, PayPal’s efforts to boost stablecoin adoption highlight that traditional financial institutions and non-crypto firms are interested in tokenized money.

The platform was one of the first payment firms to offer crypto as far back as 2020. However, it has struggled in recent years with its stock value down significantly, forcing a broad institutional selloff.

Its stock, PYPL, is currently trading at $52, over 80% below its 2021 peak of $300. With a general bearish sentiment surrounding the company, PayPal hopes its new stablecoin product will catch on.

However, it is not the only US firm digging deep into stablecoins. Digital-first US bank SoFi has announced its SoFiUSD stablecoin, which will be integrated into its app.

Several TradFi institutions are also exploring stablecoins, with US Bancorp becoming the latest to join that mix.  The US bank today disclosed that it completed a pilot cross-border payment with its own stablecoin, USBDC.

Meanwhile, a group of 21 financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America, also recently announced plans to issue a stablecoin through a consortium.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and equity markets remain volatile. Readers should conduct independent research before making investment decisions.