Evidence of a PayPal cryptocurrency named PayPal Coin has been found in the PayPal app which was leaked to Bloomberg last week. Inside the app can be found reference to PayPal Coin along with an already created logo for the coin.
PayPal confirmed the link in a statement to Bloomberg which stated:
“We are exploring a stablecoin; if and when we seek to move forward, we will, of course, work closely with relevant regulators,”
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Crypto and Digital Currencies, PayPal
According to a PayPal spokeswoman, the references to PayPal Coin found in the app are the result of a recent internal hackathon, where engineers team up to quickly work on new product ideas which may never see an official release.
Over the past year, PayPal has been at the forefront of major payment companies adopting cryptocurrency into the repertoire. Starting out when they launched Checkout with Crypto back in March 2021.
Why Would PayPal Launch Their Own PayPal Coin?
There is an interesting distinction to be made between a traditional Cryptocurrency coin and a Stablecoin. Whereas traditional crypto coins are renowned for being volatile and in some cases speculative regarding their worth, stablecoins are in fact linked to a more traditional value system such as a currency or commodity.
The most popular stablecoin available today is Tether which is linked to the US dollar. It seems that PayPal Coin would be similarly linked to the US dollar which would allow users to quickly convert their US dollars to crypto which would then allow purchases or transfers to a host of other Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or a smaller altcoin like Dogecoin.
There is currently no stablecoin that serves the sole purpose of being used for payments for goods or services. This leads to us speculating that this is the gap that PayPal will be looking to fill with the PayPal Coin. Whilst it is early days this would seem like the most logical step for the company which has already invested heavily in Cryptocurrency.
