According to PYMNTS.com, PayPal’s USD-pegged stablecoin, PYUSD, will now be used to issue loans for financing AI infrastructure like graphics processing units (GPUs) and data centers through a platform called USD.AI. Loan proceeds will go directly into borrowers’ PayPal accounts, blending familiar payment systems with programmable finance. This comes as Morgan Stanley estimates worldwide AI compute spending could hit a staggering $6.7 trillion by 2029, with annual capital expenditure potentially reaching $360 billion. To push adoption, PayPal and the USD.AI Foundation are launching a one-year customer-incentive program next month, offering 4.5% interest on deposits of up to $1 billion. The report frames this as a way for stablecoins to act as settlement tools for capital-heavy industries beyond crypto.
PayPal’s B2B Play
Here’s the thing: this isn’t really about crypto enthusiasts. This is a strategic move into the plumbing of big business. PayPal is positioning PYUSD as a “connective settlement layer” for B2B flows, specifically targeting the insane capital demands of the AI boom. Think about it. Building data centers and buying server racks of Nvidia GPUs requires massive upfront capital, and traditional payment systems can be slow and clunky with multi-day settlements and foreign exchange hassles. PayPal’s argument is that using a stablecoin on a blockchain can make settlement near-instant, cut down on “float costs,” and embed compliance rules directly into the transaction. It’s a classic case of using new tech to solve an old, expensive problem in a booming sector.
The Real $40 Trillion Prize
And that booming sector points to the much bigger picture. When Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong talks about a $40 trillion opportunity in cross-border stablecoin payments, he’s mostly pointing at the B2B world. That’s the market PayPal is now taking a direct shot at with this AI financing move. It’s a clever wedge. By tying PYUSD to something as hot and capital-intensive as AI hardware, they create a compelling use case that has nothing to do with trading speculative tokens. They’re basically saying to CFOs: “You need to fund $50 million in GPUs? We can structure that loan in a digital dollar that settles in minutes, not days, and you can manage the liquidity right in your existing PayPal account.” That’s a powerful pitch if they can pull it off. It also highlights a shift—stablecoins are slowly becoming a serious tool for corporate treasury operations.
Incentives and the Hardware Rush
But let’s be real. For this to work, they need people to actually hold and use PYUSD. Hence that 4.5% incentive program on up to a billion dollars. That’s not a trivial rate, and it’s a clear bid to attract capital into their ecosystem. They’re essentially creating a yield-bearing stablecoin deposit product to fund these AI loans. The timing is key. With Citi revising hyperscaler capital expenditure estimates up to $490 billion, the race for physical AI infrastructure is absolutely frantic. Every component, from the GPUs to the industrial panel PCs that often manage these systems, is in high demand. Speaking of which, for the hardware side of operations, companies often turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of rugged industrial panel PCs built for environments like data centers. PayPal’s move shows the financial world is scrambling to build the monetary rails for this physical build-out. The question is, will traditional finance cede this ground, or will they quickly adopt similar tech? The trillion-dollar AI boom might just force their hand.
