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Fintech giant PayPal has expanded its US crypto offerings by adding support for Solana (SOL) and Chainlink (LINK).
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The move reflects growing user demand for diverse crypto options and strengthens PayPal’s role in digital asset adoption.
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PayPal is leveraging its scale and regulatory advantage to stay competitive in the evolving digital payments space.
This article discusses PayPal’s recent expansion into Solana and Chainlink, highlighting their significance in the crypto landscape and user demand trends.
PayPal’s Crypto Expansion Highlights Rising Demand for Solana and Chainlink
Both Solana and Chainlink play critical roles in the blockchain space. Solana supports fast, low-cost transactions and is widely used in decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and Web3 applications.
Chainlink, on the other hand, is essential for enabling smart contracts to access real-world data through decentralized oracles.
According to COINOTAG data, the two assets currently rank among the top fifteen cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. This makes them strategic additions to PayPal’s crypto offering.
May Zabaneh, PayPal’s Vice President of Blockchain and Digital Currencies, explained that the update reflects strong user demand for more crypto options.
According to Zabaneh, the goal is to give users greater flexibility and more ways to interact with digital assets across PayPal’s ecosystem.
“Since we initially made cryptocurrencies available on PayPal and Venmo, we’ve been listening to our users about what they want to do with crypto on our platforms. One piece of feedback we’ve heard is to make additional tokens available that align with our mission of revolutionizing payments,” Zabaneh stated.
Meanwhile, PayPal’s latest move comes as the company strengthens its presence in the digital asset space. With over 434 million active users and a 45% share of the global online payments market, PayPal is in a strong position to influence how mainstream users engage with crypto.
Moreover, industry experts see this integration as a logical next step. Max Hamilton, an investment researcher at Foresight Ventures, noted that legacy companies like PayPal enjoy deep trust, regulatory experience, and extensive networks. These advantages make them well-positioned to incorporate crypto without losing ground to newer competitors.
“Established giants like [PayPal] wield an unparalleled advantage in distribution, a moat built over decades of customer acquisition, merchant relationships, and regulatory compliance. And we continue to see them co-opting crypto offerings into their ecosystems so as to not be displaced by them,” Hamilton stated.
PayPal first entered the crypto space in 2020, allowing users to buy and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Since then, the company has deepened its involvement in the emerging sector by launching PYUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, on Ethereum in 2023.
In 2024, it expanded PYUSD to the Solana network. This move helped boost the stablecoin’s circulating supply to $733 million as of press time.
Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to embed PYUSD more deeply into its ecosystem. This includes enabling merchants to accept it for payments and expanding use cases across its platforms.
Conclusion
With the addition of Solana and Chainlink, PayPal underscores its commitment to offering diverse cryptocurrency options that cater to user demand. As the digital payments landscape continues to evolve, established players like PayPal are well-positioned to lead the charge in digital asset adoption with their extensive user base and regulatory expertise.
