PayPal Continúa su Renovación con Nuevo CEO, Centro de Criptomonedas y Stablecoin

Whether one is purchasing an item on eBay, sending an invoice for services rendered, or giving a gift – PayPal (PYPL ) and digital value transfer go hand-in-hand.  Now, after capitalizing on a mini-boom in activity during COVID, when online shopping sharply increased, the company has seen its stock and usage begin to wane.  Not content to sit idle, PayPal is clearly undergoing a revamp as it attempts to continue an upward trajectory.  In the past few weeks, this has come in the form of announcements detailing a new President and CEO, the launch of its own stablecoin, and the opening of a ‘cryptocurrency hub’.

Alex Chriss – President and CEO at PayPal

PayPal has just anunció that its current CEO, Dan Schulman, is set to step down on September 27th and transition to a role as a Director.  In his stead, PayPal has hired Alex Chriss, who has had an influential hand in the growth of Intuit (INTU ) in past years.

“PayPal es una empresa extraordinaria que desempeña un papel crítico en la vida de consumidores y comerciantes en todo el mundo… A lo largo de mi carrera, he defendido a las pequeñas y medianas empresas y a los emprendedores, que son la columna vertebral de cada economía del mundo. Me enorgullece tomar el relevo de Dan y estoy emocionado de tener la oportunidad de trabajar con el talentoso y comprometido equipo de PayPal para construir sobre la notable historia de PayPal y aprovechar sus capacidades únicas para ofrecer productos y servicios sobresalientes a empresas y consumidores.”

PayPal describes Chriss as a “líder empresarial experimentado y altamente exitoso, inmerso en experiencia de tecnología y liderazgo de producto,”.

A Homegrown Stablecoin – PYUSD

It has now been one week since PayPal anunció that it is launching its very own stablecoin, known as PayPal USD (PYUSD).  This offering, which is made possible through a strategic partnership with token issuer Paxos Trust, is set to be tethered to the U.S. Dollar and built atop the Ethereum network.  In order to ensure the asset remains tethered to the USD, PayPal notes that it will be utilizing a basket of “…depósitos en dólares estadounidenses, bonos del Tesoro de EE. UU. a corto plazo y equivalentes de efectivo similares”.
This stablecoin offering comes at a time when PayPal is clearly making a strong push into the digital asset sector.  With its COVID boom having dissipated long ago, the company is now leaning into digital assets.

An Expansion of Capabilities – The Cryptocurrency Hub

In order for PYUSD and its existing digital asset services to thrive and draw in customers, PayPal is also revamping what it refers to as its Cryptocurrency Hub.  Here, services on offer will include the ability to,

• Comprar activos criptográficos;
• Mantener activos criptográficos;
• Vender activos criptográficos, incluyendo usar los ingresos para pagar compras a través de su cuenta PayPal;
• Convertir entre PYUSD y otro activo criptográfico;
• Enviar activos criptográficos;
• Recibir activos criptográficos; y
• Ver información del mercado y contenido educativo.

Essentially, PayPal is turning its Cryptocurrency Hub into a comprehensive offering that will provide users with nearly any service they would ever need surrounding digital assets.

Final Word

Naturally, there is a healthy amount of excitement surrounding each of these developments.  While there is no substitute for self-custody of one’s assets, the ability to easily access and actually spend digital assets on a platform as widely accepted as PayPal is a major step towards true mainstream adoption.