Crypto Biz: Rails, rigs and regulation — the new crypto economy

Crypto’s center of gravity is shifting from speculation to services. PayPal is opening the door to peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transfers, building on its growing presence in digital assets. Its stablecoin, PYUSD, has in market capitalization.

Google is piloting a payment protocol designed for AI agents, with built-in support for stablecoins — highlighting the role dollar-pegged crypto could play in the emerging web economy.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin miners face tighter margins from rising costs, higher difficulty levels and growing competition. Yet several companies are thriving by pivoting into data-center and AI infrastructure, sending their share prices sharply higher in recent weeks.

This week’s Crypto Biz covers PayPal’s P2P rollout, the shifting economics of Bitcoin mining, Google’s open-source AI payment initiative and Bitwise’s bid for a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on stablecoins and tokenization.

PayPal rolls out P2P crypto transfers with new “links” feature

offerings with a new feature that allows US users to send and receive cryptocurrencies directly within PayPal and Venmo, without relying on external exchanges.

The service, called PayPal links, generates one-time links in the app that can be shared via text, email or chat. The feature will extend to Venmo, enabling direct transfers of cryptocurrencies and PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, between users.

For US customers, PayPal said that personal friends-and-family crypto transfers will not trigger 1099-K tax reporting, though other types of crypto transactions may still be taxable

The rollout is part of PayPal World, the company’s interoperability framework aimed at connecting wallets and payment systems across its ecosystem.

Bitcoin miners outperform BTC

Shares of several major have surged over the past month, even as Bitcoin’s () price has slipped, reflecting investor optimism in miners expanding beyond crypto into data centers and AI infrastructure.

According to The Miner Mag’s latest industry report, public miners including Cipher Mining (CIFR), Terawulf (WULF), Bitfarms (BITF), Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE) and Iris Energy (IREN) each gained at least 73% over the past month. In the same period, Bitcoin has edged lower.

The rally comes despite industry headwinds such as tighter profit margins and rising operating costs, partly driven by . The next difficulty adjustment is projected to climb another 4.1%, which The Miner Mag noted would mark the first epoch with an average hashrate above one zetahash.

Google launches open-source AI payment protocol with stablecoin support

Google has unveiled a new open-source protocol , developed in partnership with Salesforce, American Express and other major companies. A key feature of the system is support for , underscoring the growing role of dollar-pegged digital assets in the emerging AI-driven economy.

The stablecoin functionality was created in collaboration with crypto exchange Coinbase. The Ethereum Foundation was also consulted on the project.

This initiative builds on Google’s existing Agent2Agent Protocol, designed to improve communication between AI agents. The payment protocol has already attracted backing from more than 50 technology partners, including PayPal and Salesforce.

Bitwise eyes stablecoin, tokenization ETF

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has focused on stablecoins and tokenization, aiming to capture the growing segments of blockchain adoption.

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the proposed fund would track an index of companies involved in the sector — including stablecoin issuers, payment processors, crypto exchanges and other industry players. The ETF’s crypto asset sleeve will include regulated exchange-traded products with exposure to Bitcoin and Ether ().

Stablecoins have become , with more than $300 billion in circulation, according to CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, tokenized assets are gaining momentum, with Wall Street heavyweights such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton moving into the space.

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