PYUSD is PayPal's stablecoin, issued by Paxos Trust Company under NY DFS regulation. Reserves are held in US Treasury bills, cash deposits, and reverse repurchase agreements. Monthly attestations are published by WithumSmith+Brown. Available on Ethereum and Solana, accessible to PayPal and Venmo's 400M+ user base.
Visit PayPal (PYUSD)It depends on what you need it to survive. PayPal (PYUSD) runs paxos-issued, paypal-distributed custody, which has a single point of failure: one institution's failure can reach your bitcoin. Proof of Custody scores it 73/100 as of 2026-03-02. The score is an editorial judgement; the facts to check are the custody model, the single point of failure and the incident history below.
| Custody model | Paxos-Issued, PayPal-Distributed Proof of Custody classification from the provider's own documents |
|---|---|
| Single point of failure | Yes: one institution, device or person can move or lose the holding Record as of 2026-03-02 |
| Who holds the keys | Not published in enough detail to state |
| Independence standard | 0 of 4 pillars met |
| Insurance | Not disclosed by the provider |
| Regulatory standing | NY DFS Trust Charter (via Paxos) Jurisdiction: United States |
| Qualified custodian | No |
| Incidents in the registry | None recorded. Absence from the registry is not evidence of safety. |
| Fees | Free PayPal-to-PayPal transfers Provider pricing page; verify before relying on it |
| Minimum | $0 |
| Proof of Custody score | 73/100 Editorial judgement on the published methodology, as of 2026-03-02 |
Facts come from the provider's own documents and public filings, with the date they were last checked. The score is Proof of Custody's judgement. Dispute a row through the corrections process.
PYUSD issued by Paxos under NY DFS regulation. Monthly attestations. Distributed through PayPal and Venmo to 400M+ users. Largest fintech stablecoin by distribution reach.
PayPal is the distribution layer, not the custodian. Reserve custody depends on Paxos infrastructure. Limited DeFi composability compared to USDC. PayPal can freeze user accounts.
1 independent party or system must fail before a PayPal (PYUSD) holder's bitcoin is at risk.
PayPal (PYUSD)'s custody insurance is not publicly disclosed.
PayPal (PYUSD) uses a paxos-issued, paypal-distributed model and scores 73/100 in our independent review, including 75/100 on custody security. One institution can move funds, which is a single point of failure. Safety depends on your priorities; see the full score breakdown above.
PayPal (PYUSD)'s custody insurance is not publicly disclosed in a form we can verify. Where it exists, custody insurance covers specific named events up to shared limits and does not cover price loss. Confirm coverage in writing before relying on it.
Because PayPal (PYUSD) holds custody through a single institution, recovery in a failure would run through that institution's bankruptcy or resolution process and depends on whether assets were segregated and properly titled. This is the concentration risk of single-custodian models.
PayPal (PYUSD) does not advertise a dedicated inheritance or beneficiary feature in the data we track. Confirm current options with the provider, since custody inheritance handling changes.