#119 | PayPal Launches Cryptocurrency PYUSD

Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes

Hey friends,

Wonderful to have you with us! On today’s edition we have some big news from PayPal in our Brew-up, along with an interesting NFT loyalty program from Etihad Airways. Let’s just jump in!

Not much action for Bitcoin and Ethereum over the last week with them still hovering around the $29k and $1.8k lines respectively. Although the charts have been moving quite sideways it’s worth mentioning how Bitcoin is sustaining above its 20-week average ($28,072) suggesting that the market bulls haven’t lost their grip yet. Another interesting point from these unexciting times is how the lack of volatility has put Bitcoin futures trading volumes at their lowest levels since December 2022. Cointelegraph contributor Marcel Pechman believes this shows that traders could have shifted to other markets or might be avoiding making decisions at the current levels.

PayPal Launches USD Stablecoin

PayPal is a ridiculous market leader with an approximate 42% global share in online payment processing, so the prospect of them getting involved with not only blockchain payments but launching their own stablecoin is a huge win for the cryptocurrency and Web3 industry.

Announced as PayPal USD (PYUSD), the Ethereum-based token will soon be available to PayPal users in the U.S. for transfers and paying for goods and services between PayPal and supported external wallets. PayPal said the stablecoin will be available to an "already large and growing community of external developers, wallets and web3 applications," and can be easily adopted by crypto exchanges.

If you are wondering why we may need another cryptocurrency in the mix, this stablecoin is a first for a major financial company and will be fully backed by U.S dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and similar cash equivalents. Issued through New York-based crypto financial services firm Paxos Trust which will be releasing monthly reserve reports, there is some strong backing behind the initiative marking the growing need for trusted blockchain-based payment systems.

In the announcement, PayPal's CEO says "The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the U.S. dollar, Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments"

With PayPal’s goliath influence on the digital payments world, their commitment to Web3 and cryptocurrencies is a bullish marker that helps set a positive outlook for the future of the blockchain amongst our current bear prices.

Etihad Airways NFT Loyalty Program

If you are unfamiliar with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways they are a national carrier for the United Arab Emirates and were listed in 2022 as the world’s third-best airliner by BusinessInsider, but now they are taking to the skies in new ways with their NFT collection EY-ZERO1. Featuring 300 unique 3D aircraft models, each showcasing a different Etihad Boeing 787 Dreamliner livery with August marking the release of “Mission: Impossible Livery”, these limited edition polygon NFTs not only show another traditional company transitioning to Web3 but show the unique way that NFTs are evolving the aviation experience.

For the mint price of $350 USD, this Etihad NFT collection is jam-packed full of utility for the active traveler with exclusive access to the Abu Dhabi International lounge, priority check-in on flights, and a 25% bonus on Etihad Miles points to name a few. To make it easier for the everyday person, these Dreamliner-designed NFTs are not exclusive access passes themselves but give holders access to a unique personalized Etihad membership card that natively works with Etihads existing systems.

Alongside the traditional airline loyalty program utilities Etihad is doubling down on its NFT future with the launch of “Horizon Club” which they call “one of the world’s first Web3 airline loyalty programs. This Horizon club will let holders stake their NFTs to earn Etihad Miles points which can later be redeemed for complimentary flights, upgrades, and an array of other perks.

The EY-ZERO1 NFT collection is an ambitious move from Etihad as they challenge the status quo of airline loyalty programs, it marks a unique and innovative way for customers to connect with the airline while giving Etihad new opportunities in brand engagement. With the likes of Starbucks moving their loyalty program to NFTs and Flybondi using NFTs for airline tickets, this uptake of Web3 by more and more companies in and outside of the airline industry truly exemplifies how NFTs are not only creating new opportunities for the world but evolving the things we already have, what an exciting time to see it all take flight.

DeGods has continued to dominate the headlines, starting with its “downgrade” art announcement on Sunday.

In particular, the art was simplified to remove seemingly superfluous details and create a more ‘minimalist’ version of the DeadGods artwork.

They managed to secure a coveted Beeple tweet:

Spoiler: the market didn’t like it.

Both DeGods and y00ts proceeded to dump in floor price, with DeGods currently sitting just about 4 ETH while y00ts are at roughly 1 ETH.

However, since the sell-off, many DeGods have been sold to bids — in particular, infamous BLUR farmer MachiBigBrother.

The DeGods community has been panicking about having over 3% of the entire collection susceptible to be dumped all at once, and eagerly urging Frank to have conversations with him.

How this will end? Nobody knows — we can only stick around and find out!

Hope you have a wonderful week ahead. We’ll see you later this week!

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DISCLAIMER:

None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.9