Bloomberg News reported that payments giant PayPal has paused work on a possible future stablecoin. February 10.
A company representative told Bloomberg:
“We are considering stablecoins … if we try to move forward, of course we will work closely with the relevant regulators.”
PayPal has never officially announced its project, but over a year ago code for a US dollar-backed “PayPal coin” was discovered in the company’s application code.that code is Shared with Bloombergfirst reported development in January 2022.
According to Bloomberg, PayPal hopes to introduce a stablecoin within the next few weeks, but no official launch timeline has been announced.
Bloomberg suggested regulatory issues could be behind the delay. Paxos, the issuer and brokerage firm of the stablecoin that provides PayPal’s crypto functionality, is believed to have been working on the asset. However, rumors have surfaced that Paxos is facing an investigation from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This may have changed the company’s focus.
While not necessarily a feature of PayPal’s stablecoins, new restrictions on staking and interest-bearing services may also prompt caution.
Despite the slowness of stablecoins, PayPal has introduced various crypto features. As of October 2020, users can now invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other coins exclusively through their own platform. The company has expanded its trading capabilities and raised limits, and from mid-2022, his PayPal users in the US will be able to trade cryptocurrencies with other wallets.
Meanwhile, according to a recent report, PayPal holds $604 million worth of customer crypto, including $291 million in Bitcoin and $250 million in Ethereum.
