SEC Served PayPal Subpoena ‘Relating’ to Firm’s Stablecoin

Payments giant PayPal today revealed in its quarterly report that the SEC had issued the firm with a subpoena over its stablecoin.

“On November 1, 2023, we received a subpoena from the U.S. SEC Division of Enforcement relating to PayPal USD stablecoin. The subpoena requests the production of documents,” reads the report. The payments firm said it is cooperating with authorities.

In August, PayPal and crypto infrastructure provider Paxos announced that the duo would enter the stablecoin race with their PYUSD offering. Reportedly backed by treasuries, dollar deposits and other cash equivalents, the stablecoin is expected to be pegged to the U.S. dollar and run on Ethereum.

A subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a legally enforceable request for documents, testimony, or other evidence, issued as part of the agency’s investigative authority into potential violations of federal securities laws.

Neither PayPal nor Paxos, the stablecoin’s issuer, responded immediately to Decrypt’s request for comment.

This story is breaking and will be updated shortly.

Edited by Stephen Graves