MoonPay announces PayPal fiat on-ramp for UK and EU
MoonPay has announced another fiat on-ramp integration for customers in the EU and UK. Customers across Europe will soon be able to use PayPal as an option to purchase crypto within the MoonPay platform.
The integration is currently live for 1% of European users, with a full rollout across the region in the coming weeks, and is not available for residents of Croatia, Iceland and Hungary.
In the press release, MoonPay mentioned that it is the third most popular payment method in the US, behind Apple Pay and traditional bank cards. The company's CEO and founder, Evan Soto-Wright, touched on PayPal's ability to provide a simple user experience for new customers:
“This move brings convenience and confidence to our growing customer base as we continue to deliver a seamless experience and lower barriers to entry to include new users around the world.”
The option to use PayPal as a fiat on-ramp for MoonPay is available to customers in 48 US states except New York and Texas.
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PayPal enters the crypto space
In August 2023, PayPal announced a US dollar stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD). The stablecoin is backed 1:1 by cash and short-term cash. Other dominant stablecoins include Circle's USDC (USDC), which is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, and Tether's USDT (USDT).
Recently, in May 2024, PayPal deployed PYUSD on Solana's network to take advantage of Solana's high consumption and low transaction costs. PayPal's deployment of Solana was to facilitate the frequent use of the stablecoin for everyday purchases and personal transactions.
Initially launched as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, the stablecoin was limited by a low rate of 12-15 transactions per second and high costs due to network congestion.
Shortly after Solana's deployment, PayPal announced that PYUSD on Solana would include additional special privacy options known as “Secret Transfers.” This privacy feature allows a trader to hide their transaction volume from the public while complying with reporting regulations.
The role of stablecoins
Stablecoins are digital representations of fiat currencies that can either be backed by real cash reserves and cash equivalents at a 1:1 ratio, or they can be algorithmic and have no cash reserves.
Algorithmic stablecoins work by using digital algorithms and automated processes to ensure that a digital token remains pegged to the currency it is intended to represent.
These tokenized fiat equivalents provide liquidity, expand banking services to underserved areas, reduce transaction costs and provide a more efficient solution for cross-border payments.
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