PayPal has confirmed that it is putting work on its stablecoin on hold amid ramping up scrutiny of cryptocurrencies from global regulators.

A key partner in the PayPal stablecoin project, Paxos Trust Co,, is also currently facing a probe by the New York State Department of Financial Services, casting further doubt over the project

In a statement, a spokesperson for the eBay-owned PayPal said: “We are exploring a stablecoin. If and when we seek to move forward, we will, of course, work closely with relevant regulators.”

Digital assets are coming under increasing scrutiny from regulators in the US and abroad following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and numerous high-profile scams. India’s minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs this weekend said that the G20 is considering if and how it can enact regulations on cryptocurrencies.

Unlike currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum which are mostly traded as assets, stablecoins are envisioned as holding a set value underpinned by a matching reserve of assets in an effort to actually make them usable as currency.

PayPal received a ‘BitLicense’ from the Department of Financial Services in 2022, with the company claiming that it was the first to convert a conditional BitLicense into a full one.

The news comes as PayPal chief exec Dan Schulman announces his intention to step down at the end of the year.

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