The firm first revealed that it was investigating a possible PayPal Coin last January after a developer called Steve Moser found hidden code and images in its iPhone app.

However, it has now put the project on hold, according to Bloomberg. A spokesman confirms that the company is "exploring a stablecoin" and that it will "work closely with regulators" if it goes ahead.

The pause comes as PayPal’s partner on the project, Paxos Trust, faces up to an investigation by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

More broadly, regulators are stepping up their scrutiny of the crypto sector in the wake of the FTX collapse.