PayPal Expands PYUSD Stablecoin to Eight New Blockchains

PayPal is taking a major step to grow its presence in the digital currency market by expanding its PayPal USD stablecoin (PYUSD) across eight additional blockchains. Seven of these networks are part of a new integration with LayerZero’s Stargate Hydra bridge, which will introduce a permissionless version of the stablecoin known as PYUSD0. 

LayerZero confirmed on Thursday that PYUSD0 will be “fully fungible” with the original PYUSD and able to move seamlessly across multiple blockchains.

The newly supported blockchains include Tron, Avalanche, Aptos, Abstract, Ink, Sei, and Stable. Meanwhile, existing permissionless versions on Berachain (BBYUSD) and Flow (USDF) will upgrade to PYUSD0. In a separate development the same day, PayPal announced that PYUSD has also been added to the Stellar network, further broadening its reach.

LayerZero Bridge Enables Wider Access

According to LayerZero, the Stargate Hydra bridge will act as the main interface for transferring PYUSD0. The company will handle minting, burning, and deployment across all supported blockchains, giving users the ability to move PayPal’s stablecoin without relying on centralized banking systems.

This expansion builds on PayPal’s current support for Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and now Stellar, making the stablecoin one of the most accessible in the crypto market. 

“Anyone who self-custodies their PYUSD can move it seamlessly between blockchains without needing to rely on the existing and centralized banking infrastructure,” said LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino. He further added that integrations like this show how “modern technology can create better money experiences and break down financial borders.”

PayPal Faces Competition With Market Leaders

Despite the expansion, PYUSD remains far behind industry heavyweights such as Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC, which dominate the market with capitalizations of $171.2 billion and $74.3 billion respectively, according to CoinGecko. USDT currently supports 12 blockchains, while USDC operates on 25, giving both a significant lead in multi-chain accessibility.

Other major stablecoins include Ethena USDe, USDS, and Dai, with market caps ranging from $13.9 billion to $4.5 billion. PayPal’s PYUSD sits in 11th place with a market capitalization of $1.3 billion.

Even so, momentum for the broader stablecoin sector continues to grow. In April, the U.S. Treasury projected that the global stablecoin market could surge from $295 billion to $2 trillion by 2028. The market received an additional boost in July when President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, hailed as one of the most comprehensive stablecoin regulations to date.

PayPal launched PYUSD in August 2023 through Paxos, marking its first significant step into cryptocurrency. With this latest expansion, the payments giant is signaling that it intends to be a long-term player in the rapidly evolving world of digital money.