Key Takeaways
- PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, will soon be officially supported on Arbitrum, in addition to Ethereum and Solana.
- Institutions like BlackRock and Sharplink are increasingly choosing Ethereum over Bitcoin.
- With over $7 billion in tokenized assets, Ethereum holds 59% of the global real-world asset market.
PayPal has expanded its dollar-backed stablecoin, PYUSD, to the Arbitrum network, marking another major step in the company’s growing embrace of Ethereum’s ecosystem.
The move comes as PayPal looks to compete more aggressively in a rapidly more crowded stablecoin amid shifting corporate blockchain preferences.
PYUSD Moves to Arbitrum
PayPal’s terms and conditions have been quietly updated to reflect the inclusion of Arbitrum as a supported blockchain for its stablecoin, PYUSD.
The update, under the “PYUSD Stablecoin” section, now reads:
“One of the Crypto Assets that PayPal supports is PYUSD, a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin. PYUSD is issued by Paxos, not PayPal, on each of the Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum cryptocurrency networks.”
Previously, Arbitrum was not listed among the supported networks.
Its recent appearance in both the “PYUSD Stablecoin” and “Transaction Limits” sections confirms the imminent availability of PYUSD on Arbitrum, even though PayPal has yet to make an official announcement.
Arbitrum is one of the most popular Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, offering faster and cheaper transactions while maintainin Ethereum’s security guarantees.
Integrating PYUSD into Arbitrum positions PayPal to support lower-cost payments and potential DeFi integrations in the future.
Ethereum’s Expanding Role in Finance
While Bitcoin continues to dominate public attention, Ethereum is increasingly being embraced for its utility.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, now reportedly holds approximately 1.5% of the total ETH supply, marking a significant strategic shift toward Ethereum-based exposure rather than Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Sharplink Gaming, a sportsbook marketing firm, recently became the largest publicly traded company to adopt Ethereum as its primary treasury reserve asset.
The company disclosed plans to sell up to $1 billion in common stock, with the intention of deploying most of the proceeds to purchase ETH.
Ethereum and the Shift To Productive Assets
Ethereum’s appeal lies in its status as a productive digital asset.
Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily functions as a passive store of value, Ethereum powers a growing ecosystem of decentralized applications, smart contracts, and tokenized assets.
One of Ethereum’s most critical roles is in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, an emerging trend where traditional financial instruments are issued and traded on-chain.
These tokenized assets include:
- U.S. Treasuries
- Money market funds
- Private credit instruments
- Real estate and other alternative investments
According to market data, over $7 billion worth of RWAs are currently hosted on Ethereum, making up around 59% of the global RWA tokenization market.
The RWA trend is particularly attractive to institutional investors and fintech firms looking to streamline settlement processes and increase transparency.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
