Shruti GautamTLDR:
PayPal Ventures, the investment branch of international payment giant PayPal, has made its first investment using its stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD). The company has backed Mesh, a crypto-focused cybersecurity startup, with the specific financial details undisclosed. This marks the first time that PYUSD has been used as a funding instrument. Mesh is a fintech connection layer that enables enterprise clients to facilitate crypto payments, account aggregation, and trading across more than 300 platforms.
Key points:
- PayPal Ventures, the investment arm of PayPal, has invested in crypto security startup Mesh using its stablecoin PYUSD.
- The specific financial details of the investment have not been disclosed.
- Mesh is a fintech connection layer that provides enterprise clients with tools for crypto payments, account aggregation, and trading across multiple platforms.
- PayPal’s investment in Mesh is the first time PYUSD has been used as a funding instrument.
PayPal Ventures, the investment branch of international payment giant PayPal, has made its first investment using its stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD). The company has backed Mesh, a crypto-focused cybersecurity startup, with the specific financial details undisclosed.
Mesh is a fintech connection layer that provides enterprise clients with the ability to enable crypto payments, account aggregation, and trading via 300+ platforms.
This investment represents PayPal’s first use case of PYUSD for venture deals, despite the stablecoin garnering attention from U.S. regulators. PayPal faced an investigative subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its stablecoin in November 2023, but the details of the investigation remain unclear.
PayPal launched its stablecoin in August 2023 in collaboration with crypto infrastructure firm Paxos. The stablecoin is backed by U.S. dollar deposits as well as short-term U.S. Treasuries and other cash equivalents. PYUSD allows users to convert digital currencies into U.S. fiat, a feature that PayPal hopes will spread stablecoin adoption worldwide.
The investment in Mesh signals a more widespread approach to PayPal’s web3 integration plans. The stablecoin has quickly risen to become the eighth-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with $300 million in value after just one year since its launch.
