OKX has announced that PayPal’s USD-pegged PYUSD stablecoin will be listed for trading on its platform starting today, Oct. 3.
The exchange stated that call auctions for PYUSD will run from 11 A.M. to 12 P.M. UTC, with spot trading commencing immediately after. However, users will not be able to withdraw the stablecoin until 10 A.M. UTC on Oct. 4.
OKX’s decision reflects the growing adoption of PYUSD in recent months. Earlier this week, MoonPay also integrated PYUSD, allowing users to purchase the stablecoin using all major payment methods in supported countries except Canada.
PYUSD is a stablecoin redeemable for US dollars and backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries, and similar assets.
PYUSD saw significant growth after its expansion to the Solana blockchain, which boosted its market capitalization beyond $1 billion in August. However, its market cap has since dropped to about $716 million as of press time.
Why PYUSD supply declined
The recent drop in PYUSD supply is tied to the waning incentive programs for the digital asset on the Solana blockchain.
Data from DeFiLlama shows that Solana-based PYUSD supply, once over $660 million, has decreased by more than 50% to $314 million in the past month. In contrast, the amount of PayPal’s stablecoin on Ethereum grew by 7%, reaching $377 million.
Tom Solport, a Solana enthusiast, explained that the rewards initially offered by PYUSD were too high but ended too quickly. He noted that the high yields attracted many farmers, but when the returns dropped sharply, users switched back to USDC.
Tom suggested that a stable 11% annual percentage yield (APY) over 12 months might have been more sustainable and could have helped secure better integration with centralized exchanges (CEXs).
He added:
“I guess the strategy for them incentivising was to encourage farmers to swap into pyusd encouraging big otc orders and a high MC to then negotiate with cex’s for integration maybe they achieved that goal and that’s why the campaign was done in the way it was.”
