PayPal stablecoin PYUSD launches on Solana

• PayPal USD (PYUSD) is now live on the Solana blockchain.
• Users can buy PYUSD via PayPal, Venmo, Crypto.com, Phantom and Paxos.

PayPal USD (PYUSD), the stablecoin that payments giant PayPal launched in August 2023, is now live on Solana.

Users on Solana can buy PYUSD via PayPal and Venmo wallets. Also announced as the first providers to allow fiat-to-crypto purchases for the stablecoin are Crypto.com, Phantom and Paxos.

PayPal brings PYUSD to Solana

PayPal announced the availability of PYUSD on Solana at Consensus 2024 kicked off on May 29 in Austin, Texas, with the stablecoin’s launch on the blockchain coming several months after the initial rollout on the Ethereum mainnet.

According to a press release, the Paxos-issued stablecoin will leverage Solana to drive further adoption across commerce and payments.

Features that the PayPal USD team looked at in their decision to integrate Solana include cost-effectiveness, high transaction throughput, settlement speed and token extensions.

The expanded functionality will bring fast and secure stablecoin payments via PYUSD to the more than 30 million merchants, PayPal said in a news release published on Wednesday.

“Making PYUSD available on the Solana Blockchain furthers our mission of enabling a digital currency with a stable value designed for commerce & payments,” Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s SVP for Blockchain, Crypto & Digital Currencies, said in a statement.

PayPal eyes growing stablecoin market

The launch of PYUSD on Solana sees PayPal join Visa, WorldPay and Stripe among other top financial institutions that currently tap into Solana’s blockchain technology. The stablecoin’s support on Solana will therefore be key to PayPal and Paxos’s mission to make PYUSD a global leader in the stablecoin market.

Having a faster and cheaper stablecoin experience is an important aspect of this endeavour.

While Solana has previously suffered negativity amid network outages, its growth and stability have been steady. The network’s capacity for up to 65,000 transactions per second at negligible costs contrasts with Ethereum’s relatively slow 15 transactions per second performance. Fees on Ethereum are also way higher compared to Solana’s.

“The Solana network’s speed and scalability make it the ideal blockchain for new payment solutions that are accessible, cost-effective, and instantaneous,” Sheraz Shere, the general manager of payments at the Solana Foundation, said.

According to Shere, the continued adoption of new payment solutions by industry behemoths like PayPal is helping push fintech innovation to the next level.