PayPal has significantly expanded the global reach of its dollar-backed stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), making it available to users in 70 markets. This major rollout extends the token's availability far beyond its initial launch in the United States and the United Kingdom, targeting regions across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and South America. Specific countries gaining access include Singapore, the U.K., Peru, Guatemala, and Malawi.
Consumers in these newly supported markets can now buy, hold, send, and receive PYUSD directly through their PayPal accounts. A key feature is the ability to transfer the token to third-party crypto wallets or convert it to local currency when withdrawing funds. For users in areas with limited banking infrastructure, this provides a new option for digital value storage.
May Zabaneh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto at PayPal, emphasized the strategic importance, stating the expansion is a "really powerful way to be able to show how stablecoins can actually be integrated into a distribution network for both consumers and merchants and then provide value and cost savings and instant speed and settlement." She added that it lowers costs, enhances speed, and provides the ability for both consumers and businesses to hold, spend, and earn.
The expansion is designed to tackle high remittance costs and currency conversion barriers. By allowing users to hold dollar-pegged PYUSD balances instead of immediately converting to local currencies, PayPal aims to reduce friction and improve efficiency in cross-border transactions. Furthermore, the company has integrated PYUSD into its existing global payout systems for enterprise clients, enabling faster corporate payouts and internal transfers between its own entities.
PYUSD, which was launched in August 2023 in partnership with Paxos Trust Company, is backed one-to-one by U.S. dollar deposits and short-term Treasuries. Its market capitalization has grown to approximately $4.1 billion, up from under $1 billion a year ago, reflecting accelerating adoption. The stablecoin is no longer limited to the Ethereum blockchain, having expanded to networks like Solana, Arbitrum, and Stellar to improve scalability and transaction speed.
This move by PayPal is part of a broader trend of traditional financial and payments giants deepening their involvement in the stablecoin sector, which is led by Tether's USDT ($143B market cap) and Circle's USDC ($78B market cap). The total stablecoin market has surged to hundreds of billions of dollars as demand for dollar-linked digital payments grows.
