Popular multinational financial technology company Paypal has confirmed its interest in “exploring” the prospect of launching its very own stablecoin, which is a cryptocurrency pegged to the value of fiat or a reserve asset like gold, silver, etc.
The interest happens to look like a coincidence whereby the developer Steve Moser discovered references to something called “PayPal Coin” within the company’s iOS app, which also featured PayPal’s logo in it.
Bloomberg said in a report that PayPal senior vice president of crypto and digital currencies Jose Fernandez da Ponte has confirmed the findings.
“We are exploring a stablecoin,” Bloomberg quoted Fernandez da Ponte as saying. “If and when we seek to move forward, we will of course, work closely with relevant regulators.” But a company spokesperson also said the code Moser found resulted from a hackathon, so it’s not considered final.
PayPal is working on a stable coin called ‘PayPal Coin’. Found the logo in their iOS app. #USDC #UST #tether #USDT #PayPalCoin https://t.co/1SGuRKZ9NS pic.twitter.com/j6D0JaHW8Q
— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) January 7, 2022
Also recall that PayPal began facilitating the purchase of select cryptocurrencies in late 2020, and in early 2021 added a “Checkout with Crypto” feature to let users buy things with their digital assets.
The company’s existing support for cryptocurrencies is limited to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ether. However, Moser says that PayPal’s app also revealed that it’s working to support the Neo cryptocurrency, in addition to exploring the possibility of introducing its own stablecoin.
