Episode Details

Presented by Rain.

Host Justin Friedman sits down with Larry Wade to unpack how PayPal brought PYUSD from concept to real-world payments while balancing innovation, regulation, and consumer trust. The conversation explores PayPal’s early move into crypto, why on-chain transfers became critical for interoperability, and what changes when a global payments company shifts from supporting digital assets to issuing its own stablecoin.

Larry also breaks down the compliance and operational realities behind PYUSD, from regulatory oversight and reserve attestations to product-market fit and cross-border payments. The episode dives into how PayPal is thinking about merchant settlement, payouts, and reducing friction in global money movement, as well as why the company expanded beyond Ethereum to networks like Solana, Stellar, and Arbitrum as it builds toward mainstream stablecoin adoption.

Subscribe for more conversations on what it actually takes to bring tokenized money into the real world.

Connect with the Hosts & Guest

Justin Friedman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justingfriedman/

Larry Wade: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larryswadejr/

About Crossing the Chasm

Crossing the Chasm is a special series with Rain focused on what it actually takes for stablecoins to become the default for everyday payments. Instead of rehashing benefits or highlighting pilots, the series breaks down the real work behind winning on Main Street, from upgrading payment rails and navigating regulation to embedding stablecoins into products people already use. Through conversations with builders and operators, we explore how tokenized money moves from early adoption to practical, widespread use across businesses and consumers.