PayPal Ventures Backs Bitfinex-Linked Stablecoin Project

Stable, an institutional-grade stablecoin blockchain backed by cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, is integrating a stablecoin built by major online payment platform PayPal.

PayPal Ventures has made a strategic investment in Stable to bring PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin onto the Stablechain, according to an announcement by Stable on Monday.

โ€œThis work with Stable reflects our commitment to expanding PYUSDโ€™s utility across multiple blockchain ecosystems and driving adoption,โ€ PYUSD ecosystem head David Weber said, highlighting Stableโ€™s focus on fast and seamless financial transactions.

The news came about two months after Stable emerged from stealth in late July, announcing a $28 million seed funding round co-led by Bitfinex and Hack VC.

Stable is โ€œdesigned for USDTโ€

Stable is a layer-1 blockchain designed for seamless financial transactions, targeting peer-to-peer payments, remittances and cross-border transactions.

The project is closely connected to Tether USDt (USDT), the worldโ€™s largest stablecoin by market capitalization.

On its website, Stable describes its blockchain as being โ€œdesigned for USDT,โ€ delivering real-dollar settlement with โ€œsub-second finality, gas-free peer transfers, and USDT as native gas.โ€

โ€œUsing USDT as the native gas token eliminates the complexity of managing volatile tokens just to move digital dollars,โ€ Stableโ€™s FAQ says.

In addition to USDT, Stable is also linked to USDT0 (USDT0), a cross-chain liquidity stablecoin introduced by Everdawn Labs, according to its X account bio and info on its website.

Stable FAQ. Source: Stable

Itโ€™s unclear whether Stable uses USDT or USDT0 as the native gas token. Cointelegraph contacted Stable but did not receive a response by publication.

New commerce-related use cases for PYUSD

According to PayPalโ€™s Weber, the partnership with Stable aims to unlock โ€œnew commerce-related use casesโ€ for PYUSD.

Launched in collaboration with Paxos in August 2023, PYUSD has grown to become a notable player in the stablecoin stablecoin market, though it still trails far behind Tetherโ€™s USDT, with its $172 billion market cap.ย 

Related: Changpeng Zhaoโ€™s YZi Labs deepens stake in stablecoin issuer Ethena

At the time of writing, PYUSD ranked as the 11th largest stablecoin by market cap, valued at around $1.4 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.

Source: Stable

โ€œWeโ€™re excited to invest in Stable because theyโ€™re tackling the real frontier for stablecoins, the emerging markets where reliable, dollar-based payments can have the greatest impact,โ€ PayPal Ventures partner Amman Bhasin said.

PayPal did not immediately respond to Cointelegraphโ€™s press inquiry about its collaboration with Stable.

Magazine: 7 reasons why Bitcoin mining is a terrible business idea