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PayPal's PYUSD on-chain dollar-denominated stablecoin 100% backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S Treasuries, and similar cash equivalents, is available on Venmo to select users and will be rolling out fully in the coming weeks. Transfers between PayPal and Venmo users are fast and free, connecting two wallets with millions of users each. Individuals using compatible external wallets, and merchants accepting payments in PYUSD, will also be able to receive transfers from Venmo users. Blockchain network fees apply. Also, PYUSD has been greenlisted by the New York State Department of Financial Services, making it easier for virtual currency entities licensed in New York to support PYUSD.

PayPal is entering the crypto-asset market with its own "PayPal USD" (PYUSD) U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. The Ethereum-based token will be available to PayPal users in the U.S., who will be able to transfer PYUSD between PayPal and supported external wallets, fund goods and services purchases, or convert any of PayPal's supported crypto-assets to and from PYUSD. PYUSD is issued by New York-based Paxos Trust and fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and similar cash equivalents, and will be redeemable on demand for dollars. https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2023-08-07-PayPal-Launches-U-S-Dollar-Stablecoin

Lars Ulbricht compared the smart contracts of the PayPal PYUSD and Circle USDC stablecoins. He found that they differ in terms of the degree and method of centralization and intervention. PYUSD's contract exhibits a more traditional approach with more control over the contract and the option to wipe accounts, while USDC enables a decentralization of minting whilst maintaining crucial control mechanisms. It is important to note that how these functionalities will be used will depend on the governance models employed by each organization. So while PYUSD seems to be just a little bit more centralized, the theoretical abuse possibilities don't differ too much from USDC.

PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, which previously had only been available on Ethereum, has been deployed on Solana which offers "confidential transfers" as an optional feature. When enabled, it would allow merchants to provide confidentiality for transaction amounts to their consumers while maintaining visibility for regulatory purposes. According to PayPal, it chose the Solana blockchain for its high speeds with extremely low costs. https://solana.com/news/pyusd-paypal-solana-developer https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2024-05-29-PayPal-USD-Stablecoin-Now-Available-on-Solana-Blockchain,-Providing-Faster,-Cheaper-Transactions-for-Consumers

PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, announced on August 7, 2023,  is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. treasuries and similar cash equivalents, and can be redeemed 1:1 for U.S. dollars, which all sounds good. However, according to Sasha Hodder, the PTUSD terms of service there will be full know-your-customer (KYC) intrusion, and PayPal can reverse any transaction, so it would have all of the *potential* censorship capabilities of a CBDC. And according to Jamiel Sheikh's analysis of the underlying code, PayPal can freeze and unfreeze accounts, and wipe a frozen account and burn its tokens. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jamiel_pyusd-activity-7094414458965356544-XSwc/

"I think it is entirely consistent with the evidence to remain sceptical about the impact of cryptocurrency on the wider economy, while at the same time being excited about tokenisation and the transition to that web3 world of decentralised finance protocols exchanging digital assets backed by regulated institutions with digital currencies, similarly backed by regulated institutions. In this respect, PayPal's move will I am sure be seen in hindsight as a cusp moment and a vote of confidence in the web3 world. "