PayPal Stablecoin Causes Scammers to Launch Fake PYUSD Tokens

Opportunists, degens, and possible con artists have already started trying to capitalize on the hoopla around PayPal‘s new stablecoin (PYUSD) by releasing their own knockoff coins. Data from the decentralized exchange scanner DEX Screener shows that in the hours following the announcement, approximately 30 new token pairs bearing the ticker “PYUSD” had appeared.

PayPal Stablecoin Causes Scammers to Launch Fake PYUSD Tokens

On August 7, PayPal announced its stablecoin with a post shared on its official X account. On a number of chains, including BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Coinbases’ newest layer 2, Base, the look-alike tokens have been created.

It is highly improbable that any of the tokens listed with the same ticker on UniSwap or any other decentralized exchange are genuine, as PayPal made it clear that PayPal USD may only be traded between verified PayPal and other compatible wallets.

One of the Fake PYUSD Tokens Reached $2.6 Million in Trading Volume

Just minutes after PayPal announced the launch of its stablecoin, the largest fake PYUSD token, created on Ethereum, saw a startling $2.6 million in trading activity. The token has since fallen more than 66% from its all-time high, despite rising more than 30,000% in the first eight hours.

Another token chose the moniker “PepeYieldUnibotSatoshiDoge” as a little ironic spin on PayPal’s stablecoin. In just four hours, the impostor token increased by nearly 3,000%. On the other hand, numerous of the pseudo-PYUSD tokens listed are probably honeypots. So, it means that once an investor buys the token, they are unable to sell it.