MoonPay and PayPal partner to launch a major crypto framework

The landscape of digital finance is shifting toward a more personalized future. Industry leaders MoonPay and M0 on Feb. 27 introduced PYUSDx, a cutting-edge infrastructure platform designed to help developers launch their own “application-specific” stablecoins.

This new framework is built on a regulated and trusted foundation: PayPal USD (PYUSD). By leveraging this established asset, builders can now create and scale their own branded stablecoins while avoiding the massive technical hurdles that typically take months to clear.

With PYUSDx, the timeline from concept to launch is compressed into just a few days.

Related: Stablecoin adoption accelerates as businesses embrace real-time transactions

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to stay steady. They avoid the high volatility of assets like Bitcoin by pegging their value to a reserve, most commonly the U.S. dollar. They act as a digital bridge between traditional money and the crypto world, used for everything from trading to global payments.

The industry is currently seeing a massive wave of growth. In early February, the total stablecoin market capitalization crossed $300 billion, marking one of the strongest liquidity expansions in history. While the market is currently led by names like Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Dai (DAI), PayPal’s own entry is gaining significant ground.

PayPal launched its dollar stablecoin, PYUSD, in 2022 through Paxos. Positioned as a 24/7 alternative to traditional bank transfers, its market cap is now estimated at approximately $4 billion. At the time of writing, PYUSD was trading at $0.99, down 0.01% over the last 24 hours.

The move comes at a time of explosive growth for digital dollars. In 2025 alone, the number of newly issued stablecoins with a supply of more than $10 million increased by a staggering 89%.

As the market evolves, businesses and developers are looking for “branded” solutions tailored to their specific ecosystems or apps. However, managing the plumbing of a stablecoin is notoriously difficult.

“Building and managing stablecoins at the application layer requires dependable infrastructure,” says Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay.

He notes that PYUSDx reduces the “technical and operational complexity” for developers, making digital dollars more accessible than ever.

While PYUSDx is an independent issuance framework offered by MoonPay Digital Assets Limited, it is anchored by the reliability of PayPal USD. PYUSD itself is issued by Paxos Trust Company, NA, a federally regulated national banking association.

May Zabaneh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto at PayPal, believes this is the next natural step for the industry.

“Developers want to build differentiated experiences, but they shouldn’t have to rebuild trusted monetary infrastructure from scratch,” she explains.

The platform is already seeing real-world adoption. USD.ai has become the first developer to build on the PYUSDx framework, using it to power a stablecoin specifically designed for AI infrastructure.

The collaboration between M0’s digital token platform and MoonPay’s distribution network offers a suite of benefits for the next generation of fintech builders:

Luca Prosperi, CEO of M0, anticipates a major shift in how financial technology is built. “We believe every fintech developer will eventually utilize a solution like PYUSDx,” he says, pointing to the platform’s ability to provide built-in liquidity and fast iteration.

While PYUSDx provides a path for innovation, it remains a distinct framework. PYUSDx tokens are issued by MoonPay Digital Assets Limited and are not the same as the original PayPal USD issued by Paxos. As such, these custom tokens are not supported for use directly within PayPal or Venmo accounts.

By offering a regulated, trusted foundation for new ideas, PYUSDx is positioning itself as the primary engine for the next phase of stablecoin adoption.

Related: PayPal steps into the future with bold stablecoin innovation

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Innovation section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.