PayPal's PYUSD Takes a Victory Lap: 68 New Countries Can Now Hold the Bag

PayPal is dramatically expanding the borders for its US-dollar stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), because apparently the old world map just wasn't big enough. The payments behemoth announced it will let customers in 70 countries worldwide get their hands on PYUSD starting in March, enabling them to receive, hold, and send the stablecoin—presumably while wondering if it's too late to ape into the real memecoins.

Previously, the stablecoin club was an exclusive, velvet-rope affair, with access strictly limited to users in the United States and the United Kingdom. The new expansion flings the gates wide open, welcoming PayPal account holders from across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America to the party, where the dress code is "digital" and the drinks are metaphorically priced in gas fees.

May Zabaneh, PayPal's head of crypto, framed the move as a play for financial efficiency, stating it gives people "faster access to their funds, lower-cost ways to send money across borders, and a more direct path to participating in the global economy." Or, as a degen might translate: "fewer fiat friction points between me and my next trade."

The expansion isn't just about sending money, because what's the point of holding a stablecoin if you can't chase some yield? Users in the newly supported markets will also be able to earn rewards on their stablecoin holdings and, crucially, send PYUSD to third-party digital wallets—finally letting their funds escape the PayPal walled garden for a breath of fresh, on-chain air.

For users in countries like Peru, who previously could only withdraw funds in their local currency (incurring the classic cross-border fee shakedown), the update means they can send, receive, and keep funds in US dollars, potentially reducing transfer costs. In places like Malawi, where PayPal wallets couldn't hold balances, users will now be able to keep money in their accounts using PYUSD, finally giving their digital pockets a purpose beyond collecting dust.

Zabaneh described this as unlocking "a balance-type concept in these accounts and an earnings concept," which is corporate-speak for "you can now park your digital dollars here and watch tiny numbers go up."

The stablecoin, issued by Paxos and distributed by PayPal, first launched in August 2023 with all the fanfare of a corporate press release. It has since grown to become the seventh-largest USD-pegged stablecoin globally, boasting a market capitalization of approximately $4.1 billion—a respectable, if not exactly dominant, slice of the stablecoin pie.

PYUSD saw explosive growth in 2025, with its market cap skyrocketing 600% from around $500 million at the start of the year to $3.6 billion by year's end. That's the kind of pump that gets a token noticed, even if it's still playing catch-up to the OG giants of the game.