YouTube Now Pays US Creators in Stablecoins via PayPal—Crypto Goes Mainstream

YouTube just handed creators a financial upgrade—and it bypasses traditional banking entirely.

The platform now lets US creators cash out earnings directly into stablecoins through PayPal, slashing processing times from days to minutes. No more waiting for bank transfers to clear while algorithms change.

Why This Changes the Game

For creators, it means instant access to funds without currency conversion fees or weekend delays. For crypto, it's another massive adoption win—millions of eyeballs now see digital assets as practical tools, not just speculative bets.

The Fine Print Reality

PayPal handles the crypto conversion, so creators never touch a wallet directly. It's crypto-lite—convenient but controlled. And yes, every transaction still gets reported to the IRS, because even decentralization has its paperwork.

Wall Street's watching this move closely—another traditional revenue stream just got a blockchain injection, proving that when big tech adopts crypto, they're not betting on volatility; they're building infrastructure. The real question isn't whether crypto will disrupt finance, but how many legacy players will still be standing when the dust settles.

TLDR

• YouTube now allows US creators to receive payouts in PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin instead of traditional cash payments
• PayPal handles all crypto conversions, so YouTube continues to operate in fiat currency while creators can opt into PYUSD
• PYUSD market cap has grown from $500 million in January to $3.9 billion currently
• The feature uses PayPal’s existing mass payout infrastructure that already pays YouTube creators, gig workers and contractors
• Google Cloud has previously accepted PYUSD payments from two customers, showing broader company interest in stablecoin integration

YouTube has enabled US-based creators to receive their earnings in PYUSD, PayPal’s dollar-backed stablecoin. The feature went live recently but remains limited to users based in the United States.

BREAKING: YouTube will let US creators get paid in PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin as the platform rolls out crypto payment options, per Fortune. pic.twitter.com/tDuz0LoLiB

— DustyBC Crypto (@TheDustyBC) December 12, 2025

May Zabaneh, PayPal’s head of crypto, confirmed the launch to Fortune. A Google spokesperson also verified that YouTube now supports creator payouts in PayPal’s stablecoin but declined to share additional details about the rollout.

YouTube already uses PayPal’s mass payout system to pay creators, gig workers and contractors. Earlier this year, PayPal added an option allowing payment recipients to receive funds in PYUSD instead of cash balances.

YouTube then extended that choice to creators who earn revenue from ads and subscriptions on their videos. The setup means PayPal manages the entire crypto conversion process on the backend.

In practice, YouTube continues to work with PayPal using traditional fiat currency. PayPal then converts the payouts into PYUSD for creators who choose the stablecoin option.

This structure reduces the technical and regulatory requirements for YouTube. The video platform does not need to directly handle cryptocurrency operations.

PayPal’s Growing Stablecoin Push

PayPal launched PYUSD in mid-2023. The stablecoin now has a market capitalization of $3.9 billion according to CoinGecko data.

The token has grown rapidly since the start of this year. Its market cap stood at approximately $500 million in January.

Much of the growth happened after September, when PYUSD’s market cap was around $1 billion. During that month, the stablecoin integrated with Spark’s lending markets and Bitfinex’s Stable platform.

PayPal first enabled buying and selling of Bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies in 2020. The company has positioned PYUSD as a central part of its blockchain strategy.

Expanding PYUSD Use Cases

Users can hold PYUSD in PayPal’s main wallet and in Venmo. The stablecoin can be spent at supported merchants.

Starting this year, small and medium-sized businesses can use PYUSD as a settlement asset when paying vendors. The YouTube integration extends PYUSD’s reach to millions of potential creators.

Creators can now choose to hold their earnings in a dollar-backed stablecoin rather than receive traditional bank deposits. This gives them another option in YouTube’s monetization toolkit.

Google Cloud has also experimented with PYUSD. A Google Cloud executive previously told Fortune that the division accepted payments from two customers using PayPal’s stablecoin.

PayPal has maintained a long relationship with YouTube. Users have been able to pay for YouTube services through PayPal for many years, and the platform has used PayPal for creator AdSense payouts.

President Donald TRUMP signed new federal legislation on stablecoin oversight earlier this year. Payments company Stripe acquired stablecoin firm Bridge for $1.1 billion in February.