# PYUSD (PayPal)

Updated: September 5, 2026

> PYUSD is a stablecoin branded by PayPal and Venmo, issued by Paxos Trust Company. Launched in August 2023, its market cap is about $2.90 billion in early September 2026. In December 2025, Paxos received an OCC national trust charter; a separate open question at the FDIC is whether the GENIUS Act's ban on issuer-paid yield covers the rewards program PayPal itself pays to PYUSD holders as distributor.

- **Issuer**: Paxos Trust Company, National Association; brand — PayPal/Venmo
- **Launched**: August 7, 2023
- **Backing type**: Fiat-backed, fully reserved
- **Reserve attestation**: KPMG (for reports from February 28, 2025; previously Withum)
- **Main networks**: Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and others
- **Regulatory status**: OCC national trust charter (since December 2025); no MiCA licence
- **Market cap**: ~$2.90 billion (early September 2026)

## Overview

PYUSD is issued by Paxos Trust Company (see the separate profile), regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services; PayPal and its Venmo service act as the brand and distribution channel, not the token's issuer. It launched on August 7, 2023.

## Reserves and attestation

Reserves consist of cash, dollar deposits, short-dated Treasuries, and reverse repo, with no commercial paper or crypto collateral. Monthly attestations were performed by Withum through February 2025, after which KPMG took over for reports dated February 28, 2025 and later.

## Networks

PYUSD is natively issued on Ethereum (since launch), Solana, and Arbitrum (added July 17, 2025, per PayPal's own announcement); a LayerZero-bridged wrapped version also extends availability to additional networks, fully redeemable 1:1 for native PYUSD.

## Regulatory status and the yield dispute

On December 12, 2025, the OCC approved converting Paxos Trust Company into a national trust bank — Paxos Trust Company, National Association — as part of a batch of approvals alongside Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Circle's trust bank. The GENIUS Act bars "payment stablecoin" issuers from paying holders interest or yield "solely in connection with" holding the token; in practice, the question is being examined not only by the OCC but by the FDIC — on April 10, 2026, the FDIC published a proposed rule in the Federal Register (RIN 3064-AG19) creating a rebuttable presumption of a violation where an issuer has an arrangement with an affiliate to pay it income, and that affiliate separately pays yield to token holders. PayPal filed a comment on the proposed rule, arguing that its rewards program on PYUSD balances is PayPal's own loyalty program as distributor, not interest paid by issuer Paxos; the public comment period on the proposal was extended through May 18, 2026. A final decision on the question remained open as of September 2026. Unlike USDG, PYUSD holds no MiCA licence — Paxos issues a separate token for the EU retail market.

## Sources

- [PayPal, PYUSD launch press release (August 2023)](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2023-08-07-PayPal-Launches-U-S-Dollar-Stablecoin)
- [PayPal, press release on PYUSD's expansion to Arbitrum (July 2025)](https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2025-07-17-PayPal-USD-Expands-to-Arbitrum-Bringing-Layer-2-Efficiency-to-Multi-Chain-Development-Stack)
- [OCC, press release on approving Paxos's conversion to a national trust bank (December 2025)](https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-125.html)
- [Federal Register, FDIC's proposed GENIUS Act rule (RIN 3064-AG19)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/10/2026-06974/genius-act-requirements-and-standards-for-fdic-supervised-permitted-payment-stablecoin-issuers-and)
- [Perkins Coie, analysis of the proposed interest/rewards rules](https://perkinscoie.com/insights/update/stablecoin-interest-yield-and-rewards-occ-proposes-sweeping-regulations-under)
- [CoinMarketCap, PYUSD market data](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/paypal-usd/)

## Mentioned in the digest

- [June 2026 — Mastercard adds PYUSD to continuous card settlement](https://stblcns.xyz/reports/State_of_Stablecoins_June_2026)

Canonical: https://stblcns.xyz/en/wiki/stablecoins/pyusd