Paypal is reportedly developing a dollar-backed stablecoin to expand its cryptocurrency offerings. “Of course, we will work closely with the relevant regulators,” the company stressed.

PayPal is exploring launching its own dollar-backed stablecoin

Paypal Holdings Inc. is reportedly exploring launching its own stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar as part of the company’s push into cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Jose Fernandez da Ponte, senior vice president of cryptocurrencies and digital currencies at Paypal, confirmed to the publication:

We are exploring a stablecoin; if we seek to move forward, we will of course work closely with the relevant regulators.

Evidence of the Paypal stablecoin was first spotted by developer Steve Moser, who shared his findings with the news outlet. He noticed code and images hidden in the Paypal app showing the work of “Paypal coins” backed by US dollars.

A Paypal spokesperson explained that the images and code in the Paypal app came from a recent internal hackathon. This means that the final logo, name and functionality of the stablecoin may differ from what is currently shown in the code.

Fernandez da Ponte recently stated on the Unchained podcast that Paypal “has not seen a stablecoin dedicated to payments,” the publication conveyed.

He pointed out that stablecoins need to support large-scale payments and provide security for the use of payment giants, arguing that:

Regulation, regulatory framework, and the type of license required in the field must be clearly defined.

What do you think of Paypal launching its own stablecoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

As an Austrian economics student, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection between economics and cryptography.