YouTube goes crypto with stablecoin payouts for US creators

YouTube has launched an option allowing US-based creators to receive their earnings in PayPal’s stablecoin, marking the latest example of Big Tech’s gradual embrace of cryptocurrency.

May Zabaneh, head of crypto at PayPal, confirmed to Fortune that the feature is live and currently available only to users in the United States. A Google spokesperson also confirmed YouTube has added payouts in PayPal’s stablecoin but declined to comment further.

YouTube already uses PayPal’s payouts service, which helps large enterprises pay gig workers and contractors. Early in the third quarter of 2025, PayPal added the capability for payment recipients to receive checks in its stablecoin, PYUSD.

YouTube subsequently decided to offer that option to creators, who receive a share of earnings from content they post on the platform, Zabaneh said.

“The beauty of what we’ve built is that YouTube doesn’t have to touch crypto and so we can help take away that complexity,” she added.

Stablecoins enter mainstream

YouTube’s adoption of stablecoin payouts comes as Google and other Big Tech companies have shown growing interest in the cryptocurrencies amid a wave of enthusiasm in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Stablecoins, which are pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar, have long been features of the crypto industry. Over the past year, they’ve expanded into the mainstream, especially after President Donald Trump signed into law a new bill regulating the crypto assets.

Proponents say they offer improvements over existing financial infrastructure, and major fintech companies have taken notice, including Stripe, which in February closed a $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin startup Bridge.

PayPal has positioned itself as an early mover in crypto among large tech firms. In 2020, it allowed users to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. In 2023, it launched the PYUSD stablecoin, which now has a market capitalization of nearly $4 billion, according to CoinGecko.

PayPal has gradually integrated PYUSD throughout its products. Users can hold it in its digital wallet as well as Venmo, another financial app that PayPal owns. They can use it to pay merchants. In February, a PayPal executive said small-to-medium sized merchants will be able to use it to pay vendors.

YouTube’s addition of payouts in PYUSD isn’t the first time Google has experimented with PayPal’s stablecoin. A Google Cloud executive previously told Fortune that it had received payments from two customers in PYUSD.