US-Based online payment giant PayPal is looking into launching its own stablecoin, demonstrating the increasing potential for cryptocurrency to become used in mainstream payments.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are backed and priced by the value of an existing currency or commodity. The stablecoins have exploded in use in recent years as a way for traders to move quickly in and out of crypto trades.
According to the reports, the evidence of the company’s exploration into building a stablecoin was first discovered in PayPal’s app by developer Mr. Steve Moser.
The hidden code and images show work on what is dubbed a “PayPal Coin”. The code indicates such a coin would be backed by the US dollar.
A PayPal spokeswoman stated that “the images and code inside of the PayPal app stemmed from a recent internal hackathon – an event in which engineers team up to quickly explore and build new products that may never see a public release – within the company’s blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies division. That means the ultimate logo, name, and features could change in its public product form.”
PayPal has been very active with its cryptocurrency efforts recently, increasing the amount of crypto its customers can purchase, as well as investing in educating its users on crypto and working to enable them to withdraw their crypto safely to third-party wallets.
Last year, PayPal-owned mobile payment service Venmo launched a new feature that allows users to automatically buy cryptocurrency with cashback earned from Venmo credit card purchases.
