PayPal (PYPL.US) is soon to accept 100+ cryptocurrencies with the goal of reshaping cross-border transaction patterns.

One of the world's largest digital payment service providers, PayPal (PYPL.US), will soon allow businesses to accept over 100 cryptocurrencies at checkout. This move by PayPal signifies that the globally influential online payment giant is trying to significantly improve cross-border transaction efficiency and dramatically reduce cross-border fees. It is reported that this option will be launched in the coming weeks, and merchants will be able to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether stablecoin USDT, and Circle-issued stablecoin USDC. These cryptocurrencies come from platforms such as Coinbase, OKX, Phantom, MetaMask, and Exodus. According to official disclosures, when consumers use cryptocurrency to make payments, the funds will be automatically converted into fiat currency or PayPal-issued PYUSD stablecoin and deposited into the merchant's account. "There are 650 million users active in the $3 trillion cryptocurrency market globally." Frank Keller, General Manager of PayPal's large enterprise and merchant platform, said in an interview with the media. "We want to allow small businesses to reach this growing customer base." With the "Pay with Crypto" feature and PayPal's own stablecoin PYUSD, PayPal is actively reshaping the traditional cross-border transaction model: the new solution aims to allow merchants to instantly accept over 100 types of digital assets, settle immediately, and with a fee of only 0.99%, contrasting sharply with the 4%-10% fees and multiple-day settlement cycles of international card networks. In addition, merchants can choose to keep their receipts in PYUSD to earn about 4% in balance income, and PayPal is also advancing its "PayPal World" cross-border payment network (integrating local settlement systems such as India's UPI), targeting the three major pain points of high cross-border fees, slow arrival times, and fragmented channels, significantly reducing cross-border transaction costs and improving efficiency. Keller stated that for small businesses accepting payments from overseas buyers, related fees could exceed 10%, and transaction settlement could take several days to complete. In contrast, PayPal states that transactions types using "pay with cryptocurrency" can be instantly processed efficiently for cross-border trading and settlement, with an initial fee of only 0.99%. Businesses that choose to convert their funds into PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD can earn about 4% in long-term balance income. Stablecoins are a special type of cryptocurrency that maintains stable value ratios by anchoring core reserve assets such as the US dollar, Euro, or gold. As key legislation establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins accelerates in the U.S. Congress, these cryptocurrencies that maintain stable prices are beginning to enter the mainstream asset realm of the global financial market. Stablecoins are essentially "on-chain dollars," backed 1:1 by highly liquid dollar assets (cash, short-term US bonds). Stablecoins combine the "dollar" with the "blockchain", providing a new type of payment carrier that is both stable and efficient, allowing the capital market to see the commercial potential of "digital dollarization". Undoubtedly, the high interest rates and interest rate cycles allow these reserves to earn significant interest, bringing near-bank-level profits to stablecoin issuers (such as Circle, Tether), while also providing "quasi money fund" profits. "All of this about cryptocurrency is still in its early stages, but the speed of its popularity is surprising," Keller said regarding consumer demand for using cryptocurrency for payments. "When PayPal launches this feature, it will bring trust." Keller took over from Jose Fernandez Da Ponte, the former blockchain, crypto, and digital currency manager at PayPal who left earlier this month. Looking ahead, PayPal's goal is to more deeply embed digital assets and blockchain into its open platform. "We hope to demonstrate our long-term commitment to the cryptocurrency field," Keller said. "We hope to play a more significant role, and to be successful, we must truly elevate the actual scale of the cryptocurrency market to a new level. I have taken over this job, embedding digital assets and blockchain into the core of our payment track."