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28 Jul, 2025

PayPal Launches Crypto Checkout Tool, Adds Support for Over 100 Tokens

Payments platform PayPal is set to roll out a new feature for US merchants to accept payments with over 100 cryptocurrencies, targeting overseas transactions and more utility of its own stablecoin.According to a Monday announcement, businesses will be able to accept Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, USDT, USDC and XRP, among others. The tool integrates with crypto wallets including Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask, OKX, Kraken, Binance, Phantom, and Exodus.Transactions paid with cryptocurrencies will be automatically converted into PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD or fiat currency at checkout, allowing merchants to receive crypto payments without dealing with price volatility.PayPal will charge merchants a 0.99% transaction fee for crypto payments, which it claims is 90% lower than typical credit card processing costs. For comparison, Visa’s fees start at 1.75% of a transaction cost.The feature aims to simplify cross-border transactions, which PayPal said are often expensive and challenging for small and medium-sized businesses. For now, it is only available to US-based merchants, with the exclusion of New York residents.PayPal joins Stripe and Coinbase in the race to streamline global crypto paymentsThe move comes as PYUSD’s market capitalization has risen by nearly 80% since January 1, climbing to $894 million from $497 million, according to data from CoinGecko. It also arrives as competitors, such as Stripe, continue to roll out new features for cross-border crypto payments. In October 2024, Stripe launched a stablecoin payment option for USD Coin that saw adoption from users in 70 countries on its first day. In June, the fintech company partnered with Coinbase to integrate fiat-to-crypto services across both platforms. Stripe added support for Coinbase’s Base network, while Coinbase Wallet incorporated Stripe’s fiat on-ramp.Fintech payment platforms like Stripe and PayPal are expanding their crypto payment offerings, but centralized exchanges like Coinbase have worked on crypto merchant tools for some time. In 2018, the exchange launched Coinbase Commerce, allowing merchants to accept crypto on platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.In 2024, Coinbase released the x402 protocol, a payment system that enables crypto transactions over standard HTTP. Designed for APIs and AI agents, it allows automated systems to send and receive stablecoins, primarily USDC, on the Base network. Regulatory clarity drives stablecoin and crypto payment growthPayPal’s new feature follows the recent passage of the GENIUS Act. The legislation provides a regulated pathway for companies like PayPal to expand services involving and integrate stablecoins into their payment infrastructure.Small businesses worldwide are also warming up to crypto payments. Industries like food and beverage, retail, travel, e-commerce and even real estate have turned to accepting crypto payments for its speed and lower costs.

25 Jul, 2025

Stablecoin Adoption in E-commerce: Challenges, Case Studies, and Future Outlook

The idea that cryptocurrency could become a mainstream payment method for e-commerce has long been met with optimism.In theory, its advantages — such as irreversible transactions, low fees, and instant cross-border settlements — appear to address many of the pain points in traditional payment systems. However, in reality, adoption in the e-commerce space has been slow and uneven. Only in recent years, with the maturing of the market and the advancement of technology, has this landscape begun to shift.This article delves into the journey of cryptocurrency adoption in e-commerce — from the gap between early expectations and real-world outcomes, to the importance of network effects, and the new possibilities brought by stablecoins — uncovering the core logic and future direction of this transformation.The Gap Between Early Expectations and Reality: Why Didn’t Theoretical Advantages Translate Into Adoption?Around 2014, following the first major Bitcoin price bubble in late 2013 (relatively small by 2017 standards), cryptocurrencies entered the mainstream spotlight. At the time, there was widespread optimism in the industry: e-commerce was expected to be the breakout use case for crypto payments. Small and medium-sized merchants, in particular, were seen as likely early adopters — after all, the risk of chargebacks had long been a nightmare in traditional payment systems. For example, customers could demand a refund from their credit card issuer by claiming non-delivery or fraud, leaving the merchant to bear the full loss. With its “push-based” and irreversible transaction model, cryptocurrency seemed poised to eliminate this issue at the root.Cross-border payments also presented a clear use case. Traditional bank transfers could cost 3–5% in fees and take 3–7 business days to settle, whereas Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies offered fixed, low-cost international transfers (just a few cents in the early days) with settlement times of around 10 minutes. For e-commerce merchants relying on global supply chains, this appeared to be an ideal solution for reducing costs and improving efficiency.Yet these theoretical benefits failed to materialize into actual adoption. Although some major companies like Dell and Expedia experimented with accepting Bitcoin, user uptake was minimal. For instance, after Expedia announced it would accept Bitcoin in 2014, it discontinued the service just two years later due to “insufficient transaction volume.” More importantly, Bitcoin’s own technical limitations proved to be a fatal flaw: during the 2017 scalability crisis, transaction fees spiked to as much as $20 per transaction, making it economically unfeasible to buy anything under $100 — nobody wants to pay $20 in fees for a $5 coffee. At this stage, crypto in e-commerce remained a pioneering experiment rather than a scalable solution.Network Effects and Currency Substitution: Lessons from Ramen Economics in U.S. PrisonsThe early setbacks of crypto in e-commerce highlight a fundamental challenge in monetary substitution: for a new form of money to replace the existing system, it must overcome the network effects of the old one. A striking example of this can be found in the unexpected case of “ramen economics” in U.S. prisons.In 2016, a study revealed that ramen noodles had replaced cigarettes as the primary medium of exchange in American prisons. For years, cigarettes had served as the de facto currency due to their portability, divisibility, difficulty to counterfeit, scarcity, and widespread acceptance — ticking all the boxes of a functional currency. The rise of ramen was driven by a “food crisis” stemming from underfunded prison systems, where inmates lacked sufficient caloric intake. Ramen, being high in energy and easy to store, offered practical value that cigarettes couldn’t match. The key insight: network effects can only be broken when a new currency meets core needs that the old one fails to address.Returning to the competition between cryptocurrencies and traditional payments: although Bitcoin addressed issues like chargebacks and high cross-border fees, these benefits weren’t disruptive enough. Traditional systems like credit cards and PayPal had built strong network effects over decades — consumers were used to the safety of post-purchase disputes, while merchants relied on mature reconciliation and refund systems. The complexity of crypto (private key management, wallet operations), price volatility (often >10% in a day), and infrastructure costs (node maintenance, security) further discouraged merchant adoption. As one blog puts it: “Unless there is a fundamental need — like hunger — a monetary system won’t change.” Bitcoin simply didn’t offer a “must-use” reason in its early days, and thus couldn’t shake the dominance of existing payment systems.A Turning Point: Japan and South Korea and the Chicken-or-Egg Problem of AdoptionIn recent years, real progress has been made in crypto adoption in e-commerce, particularly in Japan and South Korea. Despite the crypto market downturn in early 2018, both countries pushed forward with integrating crypto into mainstream retail. For example, Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten began accepting Bitcoin across its e-commerce, travel, and even mobile services. In South Korea, major convenience store chains like CU (GS25) integrated Bitcoin and Ethereum payments, allowing customers to buy groceries and household goods with crypto.What these cases have in common is that adoption wasn’t driven by merchants — it was driven by users. Japan and South Korea have some of the highest crypto ownership rates in the world. In 2018, Japan had an estimated 3 million crypto holders (about 2.4% of the population), and South Korea had over 5 million crypto trading accounts (nearly 10% of its population). When a critical mass of users already holds crypto (as investments or assets), enabling crypto payments becomes an obvious move for merchants. Instead of requiring users to convert crypto to fiat before spending, why not accept crypto directly to boost conversions? This confirms the “user-first, merchant-second” model: only when the user base reaches a certain size do merchants find it worthwhile to absorb integration costs. And users, in most cases, originally acquire crypto for investment — not for payments.Stablecoins: The Key to Solving Volatility or Just a New Centralization Trap?While the examples of Japan and South Korea show localized success, price volatility remains the biggest obstacle to mainstream crypto adoption as a payment tool. Imagine using 1 BTC to buy a $5,000 laptop — if Bitcoin drops 10% within 24 hours, you’ve effectively overpaid by $500; if it rises, the merchant suffers. This uncertainty makes it hard for both buyers and sellers to treat crypto as a reliable unit of account.Stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or Japanese yen — are widely considered the solution. In theory, they combine the technical advantages of crypto (speed, low cost, borderless) with the price stability of fiat. However, real-world stablecoins face two major challenges:1. The Centralization vs. Decentralization ParadoxMost popular stablecoins (e.g., USDT, USDC) follow a fiat-collateralized model: for every stablecoin issued, the issuer must hold an equivalent amount of fiat in reserve. While this ensures price stability, it reintroduces centralization risks — users must trust that the issuer holds sufficient reserves and doesn’t misuse funds. Historically, USDT has sparked panic due to concerns over reserve transparency, causing it to briefly de-peg from the dollar.2. Technical Limitations of Decentralized StablecoinsAlgorithmic stablecoins (e.g., DAI) attempt to maintain stability through smart contracts that balance supply and demand, avoiding centralized reserves. But these systems rely on over-collateralization (e.g., locking $200 worth of crypto to issue $100 worth of stablecoin) and are vulnerable to “death spirals” during sharp market downturns (forced liquidations lead to further sell-offs). So far, no decentralized stablecoin has matched the scale or stability of fiat-backed alternatives.A blog once proposed an innovative idea: a decentralized stablecoin backed by a retail network. This would echo the 19th-century “wildcat banks” in the U.S., where regional merchant alliances issued notes redeemable for goods and services. While such a model could balance decentralization and practicality, it would require a broad consensus among merchants and a high level of user trust — something unlikely to be achieved in the short term.Outlook: Organic Growth and a Future of CoexistenceThe adoption of cryptocurrency in e-commerce is unlikely to be a sudden revolution. It will more likely unfold as a process of organic growth. As the global crypto user base expands — over 420 million holders worldwide as of 2023, according to Chainalysis — merchant interest in integration will grow naturally. At the same time, as stablecoin technologies mature (whether centralized or decentralized), the volatility barrier will gradually be addressed.Ultimately, we may see a “coexistence model” emerge: stablecoins for small daily payments, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for large cross-border transactions, and traditional payment methods for risk-averse users. Just like ramen and cigarettes coexisted in U.S. prison economies — with the former used for transactions and the latter as a store of value — future payment ecosystems will likely evolve to meet different needs in different scenarios.Technology does not wait for the hesitant. History shows that when infrastructure and user habits align, the pace of transformation can far exceed expectations. The true tipping point for crypto in e-commerce may only be one killer app away — and stablecoins could very well be that inflection point.