MoonPay announced the integration of another fiat currency for customers in the European Union and the Kingdom
MoonPay has announced another fiat currency integration for EU and UK customers. Customers across Europe will soon be able to use PayPal as an option to purchase cryptocurrencies on the MoonPay platform.
The integration is currently available to 1% of European users, with a full rollout across the region in the coming weeks, and will not be available to residents of Croatia, Iceland, and Hungary.
In a statement, MoonPay highlighted PayPal’s position as the third most popular payment method in the United States, behind Apple Pay and traditional bank cards. Evan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of the company, discussed PayPal’s ability to provide a simpler user experience for new customers:
“This move will allow us to provide a seamless experience and lower barriers to entry for new users around the world, providing convenience and trust to our growing customer base.” »
The ability to use PayPal as money for MoonPay is already available to customers in 48 US states, excluding New York and Texas.
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PayPal enters the cryptocurrency ecosystem
In August 2023, PayPal announced its own US dollar stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD). The stablecoin is backed 1:1 by cash and short-term equivalents. Other over-collateralized stablecoins include Circle’s USDC (USDC) and Tether’s USDT (USDT), which is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization.
Most recently, in May 2024, PayPal deployed PYUSD on the Solana network to take advantage of Solana’s high throughput and low transaction costs. The goal of deploying PayPal on Solana was to facilitate regular use of the stablecoin for everyday purchases and personal transactions.
Originally launched on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token, the stablecoin was limited by Ethereum’s low base layer transactions of 12 to 15 transactions per second and high costs caused by network congestion.
Shortly after Solana went live, PayPal announced that PYUSD on Solana would also include additional separate privacy options known as “secret transfers.” This privacy feature allows the merchant to hide the transaction amount from the public while remaining compliant with reporting regulations.
The role of stablecoins
Stablecoins are symbolic digital representations of fiat currencies that can be backed by real cash reserves and their equivalents in a 1:1 ratio, or they can be algorithmic and have no liquidity reserves at all.
Algorithmic stablecoins operate using digital algorithms and automated processes to keep the value of the stablecoin tied to the base currency that the digital token is intended to represent.
These tokenized paper equivalents provide liquidity, extend banking services to underserved areas, reduce transaction costs, and provide a more efficient solution for cross-border payments.
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