Odaily Planet Daily News Maxine Waters, the Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, said she was "deeply concerned" about PayPal's move to launch a stablecoin without a federal regulatory framework this week.
Waters said in a statement on Wednesday: "PayPal has 435 million customers worldwide, more than the number of online accounts of all large banks combined. Given the size and reach of PayPal, the federal government's oversight and enforcement of its stablecoin business is critical to ensuring Consumer protection and alleviating financial stability concerns are critical."
Waters served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which is currently led by Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C. Late last month, the committee proposed a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins called the Payments Stablecoin Transparency Act. McHenry said the bill would protect consumers through federal guardrails while promoting innovation in the United States.
Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have spent the past 15 months working to regulate stablecoins and "create an environment that protects consumers and the economy in the event a company like PayPal decides to launch its own stablecoin," Waters said. ". But she called the bill "toxic and problematic", adding it would hurt consumers. (The Block)
In previous news, PayPal announced the launch of PayPal USD (PYUSD), a US dollar stablecoin for transfers and payments. The stablecoin is issued by Paxos Trust Co. and is backed by U.S. dollars, short-term Treasury bills and cash equivalents.