Payment giant PayPal has officially deployed its fiat-backed stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD/USD) on the Solana blockchain, which is popular for its cheap, quick transactions and the backing of numerous ecosystem applications.
According to its official statement, this integration makes PYUSD transactions faster and cheaper, offering users increased flexibility and control by providing the option to use multiple blockchains.
The integration with Solana ensures that PayPal and Venmo wallets display PYUSD as a unified balance. Users can choose to send PYUSD on either the Ethereum or Solana blockchains when transferring to external wallets.
Additionally, PYUSD is now available for purchase on platforms like Crypto.com, Phantom, and Paxos.
The timing of PayPal’s announcement coincides with a surge in the stablecoin market. Ripple said in April it plans to launch a stablecoin designed primarily for enterprise clients, alongside XRP, later this year.
“The availability of PYUSD on the Solana blockchain supports our goal of enabling a stable digital currency for commerce and payments,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, VP of crypto business at PayPal.
“The Solana network’s speed and scalability make it the ideal blockchain for new payment solutions that are accessible, cost-effective, and instantaneous. Adoption by industry participants like PayPal drives the next generation of fintech innovation,” added Sheraz Shere, GM of Payments at Solana Foundation.
Solana has made a name for itself with its high throughput, handling about 65,000 transactions per second (TPS), while Ethereum processes around 30 TPS. This big difference is attributed to Solana’s Proof of History (PoH) mechanism combined with the Proof of Stake (PoS) model, which speeds up transaction and block validation.
PayPal became the first major financial services company to release a public stablecoin with the introduction of PYUSD last August. Issued by Paxos Trust Co. and pegged to the dollar, PYUSD allows customers to redeem it for dollars, use it for purchases, and buy other cryptocurrencies.
Despite numerous efforts to expand the utility of its PYUSD stablecoin, USDC and Tether’s USDT still account for nearly 99% of the stablecoin market on Solana.
Stablecoins are among the most successful real-world applications of crypto technology, and they are increasingly being used to pay for goods and services in various parts of the world.
