PayPal USD PYUSD Fiat-backed
1 PYUSD held since August 2023 now buys what $0.92 bought back then — 8% of its purchasing power lost to US inflation. Stablecoin inflation calculator →
About PayPal USD
PayPal USD (PYUSD) is PayPal's dollar stablecoin, launched in August 2023 and issued by Paxos Trust Company, a New York–regulated trust. It is built into PayPal and Venmo, where users can buy, hold and send it, and it runs on Ethereum, Solana and other chains.
Each PYUSD is backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries and similar cash equivalents held by Paxos, which publishes monthly reserve reports.
In October 2025 a technical error at Paxos minted 300 trillion PYUSD out of thin air. The excess tokens were burned within about half an hour and Paxos said customer funds were never at risk, but the episode became a vivid example of the operational risk behind even well-regulated stablecoins.
Key facts
| Issuer | Paxos, for PayPal |
|---|---|
| Type | Fiat-backed |
| Backing | US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and cash equivalents held by Paxos |
| Launched | August 2023 |
| Regulation | Issued by a New York–regulated trust company (Paxos) |
| Official website | www.paypal.com/pyusd |
Peg history
Daily price of PYUSD against its $1 target. Daily data smooths out intraday moves, so the deepest depegs were lower than the chart shows — see the events below.
Notable depegs and incidents
- — Paxos accidentally minted 300 trillion PYUSD in a technical error and burned them within about 30 minutes; the price wobbled briefly and some DeFi markets paused PYUSD as a precaution.
PYUSD supply over time
PYUSD FAQ
Is PYUSD safe?
PYUSD is issued by a regulated trust with monthly reserve reports and backed by PayPal's brand. Its risks are mainly operational and concentrated in a single issuer, as the 2025 minting error showed.
What backs PYUSD?
US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries and cash equivalents held by Paxos, reported monthly.
Has PYUSD ever lost its peg?
October 15, 2025: Paxos accidentally minted 300 trillion PYUSD in a technical error and burned them within about 30 minutes; the price wobbled briefly and some DeFi markets paused PYUSD as a precaution.
How much value has PYUSD lost to inflation?
Against the dollar, none — PYUSD is designed to stay at $1. Against what a dollar buys, about 8% since its launch in August 2023, based on the US consumer price index. Holding a stablecoin protects you from crypto volatility, not from inflation.
Compare PYUSD
What if you didn't want a peg?
Stablecoins copy the dollar — inflation included. Unstablecoins take the opposite bet: no peg, a fixed or shrinking supply and volatility on the label. See them in the live unstablecoin rankings.
Sources
Market data: DefiLlama (hourly). Inflation: US CPI-U from FRED. This page is informational and not financial advice.