On August 27, PayPal’s stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), achieved a significant milestone by surpassing the $1 billion mark in total market capitalization, as reported by Coinmarketcap. PYUSD was launched in 2023 and is a USD-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company, a regulated cryptocurrency custodian in the United States.
Although it had a slow start on the Ethereum network, PYUSD gained momentum after expanding to the Solana blockchain in 2024. The fast transaction processing speed and low costs of Solana aligned well with PayPal’s goal of providing a fast and efficient payment solution, contributing to PYUSD’s rapid growth. According to DefiLlama, the supply of PYUSD on Solana surged to $650 million within three months, surpassing its supply on Ethereum.
Since June 2024, PYUSD’s total market capitalization has increased by over $500 million, showing substantial growth compared to its first year. The number of monthly active PYUSD wallet addresses also increased sharply, reaching 25,000 in July from 9,400 in May.
To further expand PYUSD’s accessibility, PayPal has partnered with various firms, including Anchorage Digital and MoonPay, to enhance its services for institutional clients and facilitate crypto purchases through PayPal accounts. Additionally, PayPal’s collaboration with Polymarket aims to integrate PYUSD into the prediction market space.
Despite these achievements, PYUSD still trails behind leading stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), which have market capitalizations of $118 billion and $35 billion, respectively. PYUSD currently stands as the fifth largest stablecoin in the crypto market, marking a significant step in PayPal’s ongoing efforts to establish a foothold in the digital currency space.
