MoonPay Adds PayPal Fiat Ramp

MoonPay observed that PayPal is the third most frequently utilized payment method in the United States, following Apple Pay and traditional bank cards.

MoonPay has disclosed the implementation of an additional fiat onramp for clients in the United Kingdom and the European Union. PayPal will soon be accessible to European customers who want to purchase cryptocurrency through the MoonPay platform.

The integration is operational for 1% of European users and will be fully implemented throughout the region in the upcoming weeks. However, it will not be accessible to Croatia, Iceland, or Hungary residents.

MoonPay cited PayPal’s status as the third most popular payment method in the United States, following Apple Pay and traditional bank cards, in a press release. PayPal’s CEO and co-founder, Ivan Soto-Wright, discussed the company’s capacity to provide a more user-friendly experience for new customers:

“This move will enable us to provide a frictionless experience and lower the barriers to entry to include new users around the world, bringing convenience and trust to our growing customer base.”

Customers in 48 U.S. states can utilize PayPal as a fiat onramp for MoonPay, except in New York and Texas.

PayPal enters the crypto ecosystem

PayPal USD (PYUSD) was introduced in August 2023 as a stablecoin in the United States currency. The stablecoin is supported by cash and short-term cash equivalents at 1:1. Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT are other overcollateralized stablecoins. USDT is the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization.

In May 2024, PayPal implemented PYUSD on the Solana network to capitalize on the network’s low transaction costs and high throughput. The purpose of PayPal’s deployment on Solana was to enable the regular use of the stablecoin for personal transactions and commonplace purchases.

The stablecoin was initially introduced on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token. However, it was limited by the relatively low 12-15 transactions per second of the Ethereum basic layer and the high costs associated with network congestion.

Shortly after the Solana deployment, PayPal announced that PYUSD on Solana would also include “confidential transfers,” which are additional discrete privacy options. This privacy feature enables a merchant to comply with reporting regulations while concealing the transaction amount from the public.

The role of stablecoins

Stablecoins are digital representations of tokenized fiat currencies. They can be either algorithmic and lack cash reserves, or they can support actual cash reserves and cash equivalents in a 1:1 ratio.

Algorithmic stablecoins employ digital algorithms and automated processes to maintain the stablecoin’s value relative to the underlying currency the digital token intends to represent.

These tokenized fiat equivalents offer a more efficient solution for cross-border payments, lower transaction costs, extend banking services to underserved areas, and provide liquidity.