PayPal Blockchain Patents Shows Interest in Layer-2s and NFTs

Financial payments giant PayPal is reportedly exploring new opportunities in the blockchain space specifically with additional Layer 2 solutions along with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

PayPal’s research and development priorities seem to revolve around several key areas, as revealed by a series of recently published patent applications.

The most recent application made public on Thursday but originally filed in March 2022, provides in-depth insights into the selection process of validators or miners when adding transactions to the blockchain. This document outlines techniques that could potentially enable the directed routing of blockchain requests to a specific group of miners or validators.

Furthermore, three additional patent applications, unveiled on September 21, were initially submitted in March 2022.

1. The first patent talks of new methods and systems for enabling off-chain transactions using NFT marketplaces.
2. The second patent application discusses the concept of an “omniverse,” indicating a product that operates across multiple metaverses. In this context, PayPal introduces an “online transaction processor” designed to offer recommendations on digital asset purchases. These recommendations are tailored to the user’s blockchain preferences and their primary interactions within various metaverses.
3. A third patent application outlines the concept of yet another online transaction processor. This processor’s primary objective is to enhance the efficiency of payments between users and merchants operating on different network layers, including layer-1s and layer-2s.

PayPal’s Push Into Crypto

Financial giant PayPal has been making a strong move into crypto and started with offering Bitcoin trading back in September 2020. Slowly, PayPal is allowing all of its global users to send and receive BTC through its platforms.

Last month, PayPal made a big move into the stablecoin market by announcing its own USD-pegged PYUSD stablecoin. With this move, PayPal would be competing with Tether and other stablecoin issuers in the market.

It’s an Ethereum-based stablecoin and supports external wallets, enabling easy funding of purchases, services, and conversions with PayPal’s range of supported cryptocurrencies.

Earlier reports suggested that Elon Musk’s X platform, previously Twitter, shall be integrating the PYUSD stablecoin. However, there’s been no such confirmation regarding the same.

It will be interesting to see when PayPal makes a push into Layer-2s and NFTs.