PayPal Expands PYUSD to Stellar in Bid to Revolutionize Global SME Payments
PayPal integrates PYUSD with Stellar blockchain to enhance real-time payments and liquidity for small businesses.
PayPal has expanded the reach of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, PYUSD, by integrating it into the Stellar blockchain. The move marks PYUSD’s third blockchain deployment after Ethereum and Solana, as the payments giant aims to cement its place in the growing arena of cross-border, blockchain-powered transactions.
With Stellar’s reputation for low-cost, fast settlement and financial inclusion, PayPal’s PYUSD integration seeks to transform how small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) manage liquidity and operational costs. By providing real-time access to capital through stablecoin rails, SMEs can bypass slow traditional systems, immediately receive funds, and allocate them for inventory, supplier payments, or other business needs.
“Working with Stellar will help advance the use of this technology and provide benefits for all users,” said May Zabaneh, VP of blockchain and digital currencies at PayPal. She emphasized that stablecoins represent one of the most practical blockchain applications, blending the stability of fiat with the speed and transparency of decentralized networks.
The integration, which has secured regulatory clearance from the New York Department of Financial Services pending final review, comes shortly after a major regulatory milestone. In April, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed its investigation into PYUSD without any enforcement action, easing previous legal uncertainty.
Despite its potential, PYUSD faces an uphill battle against dominant players like Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC. With a current market cap of $879.9 million, PYUSD still lags behind USDT ($148.4B) and USDC ($62B). Yet, PayPal’s continued integrations and partnerships indicate long-term commitment.
Recent initiatives include PYUSD’s deployment on Solana and collaborations with Anchorage Digital for a reward ecosystem and with MoonPay to streamline crypto purchases. A high-profile partnership with Coinbase also waives trading fees for PYUSD transactions, a benefit previously exclusive to USDC.
These efforts highlight PayPal’s dual strategy: expanding technical infrastructure while creating real-world use cases for PYUSD. As regulatory scrutiny eases and adoption tools grow, PYUSD could evolve from a niche stablecoin into a core component of PayPal’s global digital finance stack.
