PayPal to make PYUSD stablecoin available across 70 markets

• PayPal announced plans to make PayPal USD available across 70 markets.
• Eligible users in the included markets will be able to buy, hold, send and receive PYUSD directly from their PayPal accounts.
• PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin was previously available only to US and UK users.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. on Tuesday announced a massive expansion of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), making it available to users across 70 markets worldwide.

The move aims to broaden access to the stablecoin, which was previously limited to customers in the US and UK.

Stablecoin expansion to enable faster transactions across 70 markets

With the rollout, eligible PayPal users in supported markets can now buy, hold, send and receive PYUSD directly within their accounts. 

Additional features include the ability to earn rewards on holdings (subject to regional restrictions), transfer funds instantly to other PayPal users or external digital wallets, and convert PYUSD into local currencies.

For merchants and businesses, the expansion enables quicker access to funds, often settling transactions within minutes rather than days. The move is expected to improve liquidity, streamline cross-border operations and reduce reliance on traditional payment systems that can be slower and more costly.

"Consumers and businesses around the world are looking for faster, more seamless ways to transact globally and the current system still charges too much, takes too long, and settles on timelines that were designed for a different era," said May Zabaneh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of crypto at PayPal.

The expansion covers multiple regions, including Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Initial markets include Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Uganda and Singapore, alongside smaller regions such as the Faroe Islands and Greenland. PayPal noted that availability in additional markets will roll out in the coming weeks.

"Enabling PYUSD in users' accounts across 70 markets gives people faster access to their funds, lower-cost ways to send money across borders and a more direct path to participating in the global economy, and that is what drives commerce forward for everyone," Zabaneh added.

PYUSD launched in 2023 and has since amassed a market cap of over $4 billion, according to Coingecko data.