MoonPay and universal stablecoin platform M0 have introduced PYUSDx, a framework built to let developers launch branded, application-specific stablecoins in days instead of months. The initiative was announced on February 27, 2026, and uses PayPal USD, or PYUSD, as the reserve asset backing the system.
PYUSD itself is issued by the federally regulated Paxos Trust Company. By using that asset as the underlying reserve, the new framework is aimed at cutting down the technical and regulatory work that usually slows stablecoin launches. The announcement ties this push to what it calls “Stablecoin 2.0,” where ecosystems and AI protocols want digital dollars shaped around their own economic logic.
Separate from the PYUSD product inside PayPal
PYUSDx is backed by PYUSD, but it is not the same product found in the PayPal app. The tokens are issued by MoonPay Digital Assets Limited, and the framework is described as distinct from PayPal’s core stablecoin offering. The FAQ in the announcement also states that PYUSDx is not a PayPal or Paxos product.
The platform is also kept outside PayPal and Venmo accounts for now. PYUSDx tokens are not supported for storage or transactions within those platforms, which places the product squarely in the developer and onchain issuance category rather than consumer wallet use inside existing PayPal services.
USD.ai becomes the first live use case
The first developer using the infrastructure is USD.ai. It is building a stablecoin designed for AI infrastructure payments, making it the inaugural project to issue through the PYUSDx stack.
PayPal SVP and GM of Crypto May Zabaneh said the next phase of stablecoin adoption is happening at the application layer, and said PayPal is excited to see MoonPay and M0 use PYUSDx to bring new application-specific stablecoins to market.
Four core pieces in the developer stack
According to the release, the PYUSDx framework offers a modular stack with four main features. The first is faster time to market, compressing development-to-launch timelines from months to days. The second is branded issuance, allowing companies to issue tokens under their own name while keeping a 1:1 backing with PYUSD. The third is cross-chain interoperability through M0’s infrastructure. The fourth is onchain transparency, including real-time reserve validation and reporting.
In this structure, M0 provides the programmable and interoperable digital dollar layer used to mint new assets, while MoonPay delivers the issuance framework around it. The result is a setup built for teams that want to launch purpose-built stablecoins without building the full stack from scratch.