PayPal Completes Its First Business Transaction Using Stablecoin

PayPal completed its first business payment using its proprietary stablecoin as a way to demonstrate how digital currencies can be used to improve often-clunky commercial transactions. PayPal paid an invoice to Ernst & Young LLP on Sept. 23 using PYUSD, the stablecoin the firm launched last year, relying on an SAP SE platform to complete the transaction. SAP’s platform, known as the digital currency hub, allows enterprises to send and receive digital payments instantly, around the clock. The invoice amount wasn’t disclosed.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies usually designed to track traditional currencies one-to-one. PYUSD, which has a current market capitalization of almost $700 million, tracks the US dollar. While the consumer-facing benefits of stablecoins often dominate conversations, this payment demonstrates other use cases for the digital currency, according to Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s senior vice president of its blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital currency group.