PayPal Crypto Head Says Banks Are Needed to Unlock Full Stablecoin Potential

PayPal’s senior vice president of digital currencies, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, and MoneyGram’s CEO, Anthony Soohoo, highlighted the crucial role of banks in the success of stablecoins during a Consensus 2025 panel discussion. Da Ponte emphasized that banks’ existing infrastructure, including custody solutions and fiat on-ramps, is essential for scaling stablecoin adoption beyond the crypto-native community. This assertion comes as U.S. lawmakers work towards passing stablecoin legislation, a development anticipated to significantly impact the market.

Soohoo echoed this sentiment, suggesting that regulatory clarity will alleviate concerns about trust and encourage new market entrants. Both executives anticipate a period of consolidation following the initial influx of issuers, predicting a market that will likely avoid both extreme fragmentation and extreme monopolization. Currently, USDT and USDC dominate, representing almost 90% of the $230 billion market, while PayPal’s PYUSD lags significantly.

Da Ponte challenged the reliance on market capitalization as the sole success metric, advocating for a focus on metrics such as transaction velocity, active wallets, and transaction volume, reflecting actual usage. In emerging markets with high inflation and currency volatility, stablecoins are increasingly used as stores of value and for cross-border payments, a trend facilitated by companies like MoneyGram. Their vast network bridges physical and digital finance, enabling consumers to hold dollar-denominated value while maintaining access to cash in regions lacking widespread digital currency acceptance.

While adoption in developed economies has been slower, clearer regulations promise to streamline corporate treasury management and cross-border payments, offering significant efficiency gains. Da Ponte cited the example of near-instantaneous cross-border payments facilitated by stablecoins, contrasting it with previous, more cumbersome processes. Both executives concluded that the ultimate success of stablecoins hinges on real-world utility and problem-solving capabilities, not market hype. They view the current stage as part of a longer-term evolution, with regulation expected to be a defining factor in the next phase of growth.