In a rare move made by streaming platform YouTube, PayPal’s PYUSD will now be used as a form of payment to creators who want their compensation in stablecoins, as per an exclusive with Fortune.
The update comes as multiple banks, tech companies, and social media platforms continue to integrate some form of cryptocurrency. Elon Musk’s X platform previously had Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies available as a form of payment.
Alphabet—the parent company of Google, which owns YouTube—is also highly bullish on AI with multiple new products listed in its Q3 earnings report as part of its growth strategy.
YouTube is already a customer of PayPal, relying on its payout services, which are commonly used by large companies to make payments to contractors or gig-workers.
PayPal’s USD has already been updated with multiple changes including an integration into Arbitrum with a rewards program, a P2P payment feature that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and PYUSD, and a proposed integration into the Stable blockchain.
PYUSD also enjoys a considerable amount of free rein in the current economy, as U.S. policy has now been relaxed, with stablecoins and cryptocurrency not having to deal with as much scrutiny from regulators.
PYUSD was not so popular in terms of adoption two years prior. In 2023, PayPal had to deal with an investigation into its stablecoin, which was settled only this year. The investigation was one of many, part of an investigatory onslaught led by former SEC head Gary Gensler.
PYYSD was launched in 2023. It currently has a market capitalization of $3.9 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com.