Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is expanding the ways businesses can pay.

PayPal paid invoices to EY using the PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin deposited into EY’s Coinbase Prime account, according to a Thursday (Oct. 3) news release.

Coinbase Prime is a brokerage platform that facilitates trades, custody and prime services, according to the platform’s website.

“An increasing number of Fortune 500 companies are approaching Coinbase to explore crypto payments,” Coinbase Director of Institutional Sales Steven Capozza said in the release. “Many are quickly moving from proof-of-concept exploration to full adoption.”

Stablecoins can make B2B payments and treasury management faster, cheaper and more efficient because they settle instantly, including across borders, according to the release. They can also offer rewards to holders, boosting workflows for companies and their vendors.

Like EY, Google Cloud and other companies have used Coinbase Prime to accept and custody crypto payments, the release said.

“Requiring terms like ‘net-30’ for invoice payments can restrict cash flow and negatively impact business operations,” PayPal Director of Market Development Steve Everett said in the release. “With digital currencies like stablecoins, payments can be made 24/7, funds transferred near instantly and settled in near real time — enabling businesses to put their money to work faster.”

The news came a month after Coinbase reported the first-ever crypto transaction between two artificial intelligence agents.

“AI agents cannot get bank accounts, but they can get crypto wallets,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a post on social platform X. “They can now use USDC on Base to transact with humans, merchants or other AIs. Those transactions are instant, global and free.

He said the transaction marked an “important step” in AIs performing useful work, which they haven’t been able to do because they couldn’t transact to acquire resources.

The CEO invited companies working on AIs and large language models that might benefit from having an integrated crypto wallet to conduct payments to integrate Coinbase’s wallet.

“And if you are a company that sells a service — get ready for your shopping cart to be AI checkout enabled,” Armstrong said.

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Blockchain is growing into a global innovation that transcends its initial association with crypto.

The auction house Christie’s, for example, recently announced that an upcoming collection of fine art photography will include blockchain-based certificates of ownership for digital provenance purposes.

And from banking to payments and beyond, blockchain technology is being adopted in mainstream industries, with a global appeal that stems from its ability to transcend borders and facilitate decentralized, transparent and efficient processes while offering benefits like programmable capabilities.

But this growth hasn’t been without challenges. One of the obstacles to blockchain’s broader acceptance is the fragmented regulations across regions. As regulations evolve and blockchain matures, companies will need to stay ahead of the curve to harness the potential of this technology.

PYMNTS each week tracks the trends and themes of Web3’s journey to greater adoption and utility across payments and commerce.

Read more: Stablecoins, Tokenization and Caroline Ellison Headline This Week in Web3

Navigating Regulatory Hurdles

News broke recently that Dubai’s cryptocurrency regulator wants companies to warn customers of the risks of digital currencies. The regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, updated its guidelines and will require companies that want to market crypto in the United Arab Emirates to include a new and “prominent” disclaimer starting Tuesday (Oct.1).

Sometimes regulatory clarity in one jurisdiction can make up for challenges in others. For example, Robinhood is offering cryptocurrency transfers to European customers amid regulatory pressure in the United States. The service, “one of the most requested features in the region,” allows customers to deposit and withdraw more than 20 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and USD Coin, according to a Tuesday (Oct. 1) announcement.

Tuesday’s announcement follows a report from last week about a possible collaboration between Robinhood and U.K. FinTech Revolut to issue stablecoins. Both companies declined to confirm the report.

Stablecoins, which are digital assets pegged to the value of traditional currencies, have become a focal point in the cryptocurrency and financial sectors due to their relative stability compared to volatile assets like bitcoin.

Read more: Can Stablecoins Spark Crypto Adoption Across Retail and B2B Markets?

Blockchain’s Expanding Role

Blockchain technology was once synonymous with cryptocurrency but is now expanding into mainstream industries, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence, Solana and Solana Foundation collaboration, “Blockchain’s Benefits for Regulated Industries.”

The technology’s decentralized ledger offers promising applications in banking, payments, and programmable finance. One recent example comes from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) which Sept. 24  successfully completed a pilot using programmable payments with JPM Coin through Onyx by J.P. Morgan.

“This successful pilot opens up the possibility of a dynamic and automated funding and settlement solution to FAB and J.P. Morgan’s mutual clients,” the companies announced. “This solution will enable clients to benefit from Onyx’s real-time and/or event-based programmable capabilities.”

And elsewhere, Worldpay is reportedly in talks with blockchains about becoming a validator and verifying blockchain transactions. The payments provider aims to do so to better understand how digital ledgers operate and to be involved with blockchain infrastructure.

Read more: Are Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts a Smart Option for Global Financing?

“The idea is to be part of the ecosystem right at the base,” said Sanchit Mall, Worldpay’s Web3 and crypto lead in the Asia-Pacific region. Worldpay has processed $1.3 billion worth of payments using stablecoin so far this year, up from less than $1 billion in 2023, according to the report.

Worldpay’s exploration of blockchain validation underscores a critical point: The payments industry is seeking to harness blockchain’s capabilities. While cryptocurrency adoption remains uneven across the globe, industry leaders are preparing for a potential shift toward blockchain-based solutions that could eventually underpin financial ecosystems.

As another data point, PayPal Holdings now enables U.S. merchants — except those in New York State — to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal business accounts. The company also now enables PayPal business account holders to send and receive supported cryptocurrency tokens to and from external blockchain accounts, PayPal Holdings said in an announcement Sept. 25.

Meanwhile, consumer behavior is also shifting in favor of digital currencies. Tech-driven consumers — the 15% of consumers who are usually the first to buy the latest connected device — are often habitual cryptocurrency users, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Shopping With Cryptocurrency: Tech-Driven Consumers Drive Market Acceptance.” The study showed that 24% of these consumers use cryptocurrency at least 10 to 20 times per month.

This tech-driven cohort is likely to be a crucial demographic for businesses seeking to integrate blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions. As these early adopters embrace the convenience and efficiency of blockchain, they pave the way for broader market acceptance, forcing companies to rethink their strategies in the digital economy.