PayPal Received SEC Subpoena Over PYUSD Stablecoin

The payments giant disclosed the Nov. 1 subpoena in a regulatory filing but provided few details.

Payments giant PayPal (PYPL) received a subpoena from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to its PayPal USD stablecoin, according to a regulatory document filed on Wednesday. PayPal launched the Ethereum-based. U.S. dollar-pegged PYUSD token in August.

According to the 10-Q filing, PayPal received the subpoena from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement on November 1. The subpoena requested unspecified documents. PayPal said it is cooperating with the regulator.

PayPal began to offer crypto services in 2020, providing its more than 431 million active global accounts with the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets. Plans for its own stablecoin were paused earlier this year after the issuer of the token, Paxos Trust, became the subject of an investigation by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

The stablecoin can be traded for other cryptocurrencies on the platform, which led some to question the token’s utility. PYUSD is listed on several crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, Huobi and Bybit, and has grown to a market capitalization of nearly $159 million, according to CoinGecko data.

PayPal shares climbed 5.6% to $54.57 on Thursday after comments from new CEO Alex Chriss suggested that the company is focused on leaner operations and profitable growth.