Global: SEC Subpoenas PayPal Over Recently Launched Stablecoin

PayPal has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting documentation related to its newly launched stablecoin.

In its quarterly earnings report, PayPal revealed that on November 1, 2023, the company received a subpoena from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement regarding the PayPal USD stablecoin (PYUSD).

The subpoena specifically seeks the production of documents. PayPal has confirmed its cooperation with the SEC in response to this request.

However, the filing does not provide further details regarding the specifics of the SEC’s request.

PayPal launched its USD stablecoin (PYUSD) in August, marking a successful entry into the stablecoin market. This achievement comes after Facebook’s Libra project faced significant regulatory challenges.

PYUSD is issued by Paxos and is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. treasuries, and equivalent cash holdings. Users of PYUSD can perform various transactions, including transferring the token to external wallets, making peer-to-peer payments, funding purchases at PayPal-supported checkouts, and converting cryptocurrency assets to and from the stablecoin.