PayPal SVP Jose Fernandez da Ponte outlines the payment giant's crypto strategy

Episode 24 of The Crypto Beat was recorded with The Block's Head of Growth Tim Copeland and PayPal's SVP of Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies, Jose Fernandez da Ponte.

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The Block’s head of growth, Tim Copeland — who was serving as editor in chief at the time of recording — is joined by PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies, Jose Fernandez da Ponte.

In this episode, Copeland and Fernandez da Ponte discuss PayPal’s vision and progress in crypto, including its stablecoin PYUSD, payment use cases, and how the company is positioning itself as a major player in blockchain-based finance.

OUTLINE
00:00 - Introduction
03:03 - PayPal’s journey into crypto
06:31 - Top requested features: tokens and yield
11:21 - Navigating regulation
15:09 - The Popularity of crypto on PayPal
18:49 - Circle’s new cross-border payments network
19:56 - Measuring success with PYUSD
23:09 - Supporting other stablecoins
24:05 - Can PYUSD rival Tether or USDC?
27:35 - BlackRock and TradFi entering crypto
29:51 - Using stablecoins in real business payments
30:42 - How crypto will change financial services
34:16 - PayPal’s long-term crypto ambitions
37:12 - Closing thoughts

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Guest links:
Jose Fernandez da Ponte - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-fernandez-da-ponte-a46ba81/
PayPal - https://x.com/PayPal

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