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Paxos Technical Error Creates 300 Trillion PYUSD, Shocking Crypto Markets
Paxos – A fleeting but astonishing technical mishap briefly created more value than the entire global economy—before being swiftly corrected.
Paxos Mints 300 Trillion PYUSD by Mistake
In a surreal moment for the crypto world, Paxos, the issuer of PayPal USD (PYUSD), accidentally minted a jaw-dropping 300 trillion PYUSD tokens—equivalent to $300 trillion—following a technical error in its minting system. The event occurred on Wednesday at 3:12 p.m. ET, with Paxos acting quickly to resolve the issue.
Swift Response Restores System Stability
Paxos acknowledged the incident in a post on X (formerly Twitter), confirming that the root cause had been identified and fixed. The company emphasized that the system has since returned to normal operations.
Despite the enormous figure, the error was temporary, and the mistakenly minted tokens were immediately burned, avoiding any real economic fallout.
A Moment of Impossible Wealth
To put the scale into perspective: $300 trillion is nearly eight times the combined GDP of the entire planet and over eight times the U.S. national debt. The brief existence of such a massive token supply naturally drew viral attention across the crypto community.
DeFi Market Impact Was Short-Lived
The glitch sent ripples through DeFi markets, prompting Aave to temporarily freeze PYUSD lending markets. The stablecoin momentarily depegged from $1, but its price rapidly recovered following the token burn.
After stabilizing, Paxos resumed its regular issuance process, minting 300 million PYUSD as part of its standard operations.
PYUSD Remains a Top Stablecoin
Despite the mishap, PYUSD continues to rank as the world’s sixth-largest stablecoin, with a market cap of $2.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Paxos’ rapid response and transparent communication helped sustain confidence across the ecosystem.
