PayPal

Founded in 1998 by Luke Nosek, Ken Howery, Max Levchin, and Peter Thiel, PayPal entered the crypto market in 2020. Today, PayPal allows its more than 400 million active users to buy, sell, and hold major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. 

In 2023, PayPal launched PYUSD, its native stablecoin, which has since grown to nearly $3 billion in market capitalization in June 2026 despite a relatively slow start. Like other stablecoins of its genre, PYUSD is backed by U.S. dollar deposits and short-term U.S. Treasuries. 

In early 2026, PayPal replaced struggling CEO Alex Chriss with Enrique Lores, who is doubling down on AI in a bid to keep the company competitive in a fast-evolving payment landscape.