PayPal is considering launching its own cryptocoin, report says

The trusted internet payment system is reportedly exploring its own stable cryptocurrency.

David Lumb Mobile Reporter

David Lumb is a mobile reporter covering how on-the-go gadgets like phones, tablets and smartwatches change our lives. Over the last decade, he's reviewed phones for TechRadar as well as covered tech, gaming, and culture for Engadget, Popular Mechanics, NBC Asian America, Increment, Fast Company and others. As a true Californian, he lives for coffee, beaches and burritos.

Expertise smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, telecom industry, mobile semiconductors, mobile gaming

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David Lumb

Jan. 7, 2022 4:26 p.m. PT

2 min read

PayPal is reportedly considering launching its own cryptocurrency backed by the US dollar as the venerable online payment company continues to integrate ways to engage with digital coins on its platforms.

The company is just exploring the idea of releasing its own stablecoin, a cryptocurrency backed by and linked in value to an existing currency, PayPal confirmed to Bloomberg. Developer Steve Moser dug around in the PayPal app and discovered evidence that the company was tinkering with a cryptocurrency called "PayPal Coin" backed by the US dollar.

Moser also found references to another cryptocoin, Neo, in PayPal's iOS app, he noted on his site, The Tape Drive. PayPal currently supports buying, selling and holding Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin cryptocurrencies.

PayPal started letting its US customers hold cryptocurrency in Oct. 2020, then enabled them to make purchases with supported cryptocoins from the platform's 29 million merchants the following March. PayPal doesn't charge fees for holding cryptocurrency, but it does charge a small transaction fee at or below 2.3%. The upside to using PayPal for cryptocoin purchases is the fraud protection it extends to purchases, just like those made with fiat currency on the platform.

It's not clear how much PayPal has developed its stablecoin, though the code evidence, including a PayPal Coin logo found in the app, were the result of an internal hackathon, a company spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg. Presumably, the name and details could change if PayPal moves forward with its cryptocurrency.

PayPal didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.