You ever get that feeling, like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop? That’s been PayPal’s vibe for months, ever since the SEC came sniffing around their new stablecoin, PYUSD.
The feds sent a subpoena last November, poked around, made everyone sweat, and now? They walk away. No charges, no drama, just a quiet exit out the back door.
Idea
PayPal, in cahoots with Paxos, dropped PYUSD in August 2023. Big move, first time a major U.S. fintech tried to muscle in on the stablecoin racket.
They promised every PYUSD was backed by cold, hard cash and short-term Treasuries. You could use it across PayPal, Venmo, and even send it around like an ERC-20 token. But the SEC?
They weren’t buying the hype, not at first. They wanted paperwork, documents, the whole nine yards.
So, PayPal played nice. Handed over what the SEC wanted, kept the lawyers busy. Meanwhile, the whole industry held its breath, would PYUSD get slapped as an unregistered security?
Would PayPal get dragged into court like some two-bit hustler? Nope. Instead, the SEC just… let it go. No enforcement action. Just a note in PayPal’s Q1 2025 financials, like it was no big deal.
Big dream
Now, don’t go popping champagne just yet. Sure, this takes a big cloud off PayPal and Paxos.
It even gives a little nudge to lawmakers pushing the GENIUS Act, a Senate bill to finally lay down some ground rules for stablecoins.
But PYUSD’s market share is still a drop in the $241 billion stablecoin ocean, hovering under $900 million in circulation. Tether and USDC are still the big bosses here.
But PayPal aren’t slowing down. They want to roll out PYUSD payments to over 20 million businesses by next year.
They’re dreaming of a world where you skip the old-school card networks and just settle up with stablecoins.
Ambitious? Sure. But with the SEC off their backs, at least for now, they’ve got room to make their move.
Action
Still, there’s a catch, as PayPal’s lawyers are quick to remind you, storing crypto isn’t risk-free.
If things go south, your coins might get tangled up in bankruptcy court. And while the SEC’s new leadership seems less trigger-happy with crypto enforcement, don’t expect a free pass forever.
Congress still needs to sort out the mess, this ain’t the end of the story, just the end of this particular shakedown.
So, PayPal lives to fight another day. The SEC walks away, the market shrugs, and the stablecoin business rolls on. For now.
Disclosure:This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
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