The payments giant ended up making a statement after hints about such a development were spotted within its iPhone app.
PayPal has confirmed that it is exploring plans to launch its very own stablecoin.
The payments giant ended up making a statement after hints about such a development were spotted within its iPhone app.
Speaking to Bloomberg, PayPal's senior vice president of crypto and digital currencies Jose Fernandez da Ponte said:
"We are exploring a stablecoin; if and when we seek to move forward, we will of course, work closely with relevant regulators."
Regulation could be a huge pain point for PayPal as it aims to bring a stablecoin to market, not least because these digital assets have piqued the interest of U.S. lawmakers in recent months.
Scrutiny has also been growing of other stablecoin issuers such as Tether amid concerns that the USDT in circulation isn't backed on a one-to-one basis with dollars in a bank account.
Facebook (now known as Meta) has faced staunch resistance as it aims to bring its Diem digital currency to market.
What We Know So Far
Code uncovered by developer Steve Moser indicates that the digital asset would be known as "PayPal Coin" — and like other stablecoins, it too would be backed by the U.S. dollar.
However, all of this could change as the company continues to work on this project.
PayPal has embraced crypto for some time, and currently allows consumers in countries including the U.K. and the U.S. to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.
Recently, the platform also enabled cryptocurrencies to be used for making purchases at millions of merchants around the world.
