PYUSD

Overview

PayPal USD (PYUSD) is a US dollar stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company, N.A., not by PayPal itself. Paxos states: "Issuance of and custody of PayPal USD is performed by Paxos Trust Company, N.A." PayPal is the brand and the distribution channel. Paxos holds the reserves and processes mint and redemption.

What backs it

Paxos describes PYUSD as "Backed 1:1 for the dollar" with reserves "held 100% in US dollar deposits, US treasuries and cash equivalents". PayPal's own product page repeats the same composition and says PYUSD is "redeemable 1:1 for US dollars". The issuing entity is a chartered US trust company, and the token circulates on public chains where anyone can read supply directly.

The in-app reward

PayPal pays a variable rate on in-app balances, described as "earn 4% in annual rewards", paid monthly in PYUSD. The token itself carries no yield. The reward is a PayPal program, not a property of the stablecoin.

Sources: Paxos, PayPal USD (PYUSD) product page, PayPal, PYUSD stablecoin page

Backing and reserves

Paxos publishes two separate documents each month, and the difference between them matters.

The self-report

Paxos states it "self-reports its portfolio composition 5 business days after month's end; these reports have not been subjected to independent review." That is Paxos describing its own reserves, unchecked.

The third-party attestation

Paxos states: "Attestation reports posted on or after February 28, 2025 are issued by KPMG LLP, an independent third-party accounting firm. KPMG LLP's examination is conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)." Reports before that date were issued by WithumSmith+Brown, PC under the same AICPA standards. Paxos also states that the examination provider was approved by its prudential regulator, the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Read on 18 August 2026, the PYUSD attestation index listed monthly reports for January through June 2026. No July 2026 attestation was listed at that time.

Two boundaries

An AICPA attestation examination is a point-in-time engagement over management's assertion. It is not a financial statement audit of Paxos, and it does not speak to the days between month-ends. Neither the Paxos PYUSD page nor the transparency page itemises the split between bank deposits, Treasury bills and repo, or names the custodian banks. That detail lives inside the monthly documents themselves.

Sources: Paxos, PYUSD transparency and attestation index, Paxos, PayPal USD (PYUSD) product page

Regulation

Paxos says its "issuance of the stablecoin PYUSD, and its reserves, are subject to strict regulatory oversight by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)." The transparency page separately names the New York State Department of Financial Services as Paxos' prudential regulator for purposes of approving its examination provider.

The OCC confirmed the federal side directly. On 12 December 2025 it announced conditional approval of five national trust bank charter applications, including Paxos Trust Company, National Association, converting from a state trust company to a national trust bank. The OCC release does not publish the specific conditions attached to any individual applicant.

The corporate name on Paxos' own pages is now "Paxos Trust Company, N.A.", consistent with that conversion.

Sources: OCC news release, conditional approvals for five national trust bank charters, Paxos, PayPal USD (PYUSD) product page

Risks

• Two-party dependency. The brand is PayPal, the reserves and the redemption obligation sit with Paxos Trust Company, N.A. A holder's claim runs to Paxos. PayPal states the token is not a PayPal deposit: "YOUR CRYPTOCURRENCIES HUB IS NOT A DEPOSIT ACCOUNT AND YOUR PYUSD ARE NOT DEPOSITS."
• Not legal tender and not a bank deposit. PayPal states in capitals that "PYUSD IS NOT LEGAL TENDER". Neither the PayPal page nor the Paxos page reviewed here claims FDIC insurance on PYUSD balances.
• Direct redemption is not retail-wide. Paxos frames 1:1 redemption as being with Paxos. A holder outside PayPal's app and outside a Paxos account depends on secondary market liquidity to exit.
• Disclosure cadence lags. The unreviewed Paxos self-report arrives five business days after month end, and the independent attestation later still. Between publication dates there is no independent confirmation of the reserve balance.
• The 4% reward is a PayPal program with a variable rate, described as "subject to change". It is not a yield the token earns and it can be reduced or withdrawn.
• Charter conditions are undisclosed. The OCC approval of the Paxos conversion is conditional, and the December 2025 release does not state what those conditions are for Paxos.

Sources: PayPal, PYUSD stablecoin page, Paxos, PYUSD transparency and attestation index, OCC news release, conditional approvals for five national trust bank charters

What this map tracks

PYUSD supply is read on chain from the token contracts, and market price is tracked against the USD peg. The stablecoin explorer shows that read beside every other tracked coin.

What that does not cover

The reserves. PYUSD is backed off chain by bank deposits and Treasuries held by Paxos, and no on-chain read can see them. The only evidence of backing is the monthly Paxos self-report and the KPMG attestation on the Paxos transparency page. On-chain supply and attested reserves are two separate measurements taken at different times, and one is not reconciled against the other here.

Paxos states PYUSD is "available on multiple blockchains". Paxos' developer overview page does not itemise the deployment addresses, so no contract list is asserted here.

Sources: Paxos, PYUSD developer overview, Paxos, PYUSD transparency and attestation index

Common questions