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- PayPal and the Stablecoin Wars 🔫
PayPal and the Stablecoin Wars 🔫
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Hey Phenoms,
This week we are talking about:
Paypal’s new dive into stablecoins 💰
Coinbase new Layer 2 🔵
The Feds watching crypto banking 👮🏻♂️
The Market: still neutral 〰

Market Rundown



Paypal Splashes into the Stablecoin arena
PayPal, the financial behemoth with a global footprint and 430 million users, has recently announced its intention to enter the $120 billion stablecoin market. This decision represents a significant strategic move for a company that processed $1.36 trillion in payment volume last year. Positioning the company to be a notable contender in the increasingly competitive arena of stablecoin offerings.
What is Paypal’s Stablecoin $PYUSD?
The following outlines the key features of the stablecoin to be issued by Paxos Trust Company on behalf of PayPal:
1. Backing Assets: The stablecoin will be underpinned by U.S. dollars, short-term treasuries, and other cash equivalents. This diversified backing is intended to provide a strong foundation, aiming to ensure the stability of the coin's value.
2. Redeemability: At all times, the stablecoin will be redeemable for U.S. dollars (USD), providing liquidity and reassuring potential users of its reliability as a store of value.
3. Transferability: Users will be enabled to transfer the stablecoin between PayPal, Venmo, and other compatible external wallets, enhancing its utility as a medium of exchange.
4. Future Payment Integration: The stablecoin will be made available as a mode of payment for purchases using PayPal in the foreseeable future. This promises to add an additional layer of functionality to PayPal's existing payment ecosystem.
What is Paypal doing?
With the stablecoin market heating up, PayPal's entrance may be likened to an escalation in competitive dynamics reminiscent of a wrestling match, though, of course, with far-reaching financial implications.
1. Positioning within the Stablecoin Market: PayPal's entry into the stablecoin market places it alongside other significant players, further intensifying the competition. The $120 billion stablecoin market is already crowded, and PayPal's entrance adds a reputable and resourceful new participant.
2. Implications for PayPal's Strategy: PayPal's introduction of a stablecoin signifies a bold expansion of its product offerings and may be viewed as an effort to capitalize on its existing user base and financial infrastructure.
3. Potential Risks and Rewards: The successful deployment of the stablecoin could solidify PayPal's position as a versatile financial services provider. However, regulatory scrutiny, market dynamics, and execution risks should be carefully considered as part of any investment or strategic decisions related to this initiative.
Our take:
PayPal's announcement to issue a stablecoin backed by U.S. dollars, short-term treasuries, and other cash equivalents, represents a noteworthy development in the financial landscape. While the move aligns with the company's broader strategic goals, it also invites a new set of challenges and opportunities that will require careful navigation.
Investors, stakeholders, and market participants are advised to closely monitor this development as PayPal leverages its considerable resources to carve a niche in the stablecoin market. The implications of this move will undoubtedly reverberate across the financial ecosystem, with potential consequences for competitors, regulators, and the broader fintech industry. Stable coin issuers can bring in tremendous revenue as they are essentially given an interest free loan from their customers that they can turn around and create yield from. Tether alone produced a $1Billion profit last quarter. Watch for Paypal to show increased top line revenue next year.
It is also notable that Paypal choose to launch their coin as an ERC-20 on Ethereum rather than spinning up their own chain. This is a bullish signal for ETH and other financial companies will be watching closely as they consider how to launch their own crypto products.
Note* There is a lot of FUD going around about this stablecoin that PayPal can freeze and burn your assets at will. While we disagree with this on decentralization and freedom it isn’t something that is novel to PayPal. This tweet sums it up pretty well.
you guys realize basically all on-chain custodial stable coins are basically permissioned assets which can be frozen or burned at will by their operators, right???
it’s not just PayPal, it’s all of them
— DCinvestor (@iamDCinvestor)
1:30 PM • Aug 8, 2023

The Twitterverse
A collection of the most interesting stuff on Crypto Twitter this week
Coinbase's new Layer 2 'Base' is finally here.
It's one of the most exciting crypto product launches of the year, and will be home to countless new opportunities.
🧵: Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about Base, and how you can profit as an investor. 👇
— Miles Deutscher (@milesdeutscher)
6:50 PM • Aug 8, 2023
Real World Assets (RWA) moved from the 13th to the 10th largest sector in just 2 months.
I expect RWA to break into the top 6 in DeFi within the next year, bridging the gap between CeFi & DeFi.
A 🧵 on the state of RWA sector, areas to keep an eye for, and full potential of RWA
— Tindorr 🚢 (@0xTindorr)
5:11 PM • Aug 8, 2023

Phenom News
Stay up to date with the latest news and trends
Closing the ledger for now, but the crypto revolution continues. Stay curious, stay bold, and keep chasing those blockchain gains!
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