PYUSD was first announced in January 2022, but its launch was delayed due to regulatory concerns — PayPal received a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in June 2022, following an earlier conditional license. The actual launch came on August 7, 2023: PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced the launch of PayPal USD, issued by Paxos Trust Company — the first time a major, publicly traded consumer payments company launched its own stablecoin.
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Reserves consist 100% of US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries, and cash equivalents; redeemable 1:1.
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Initially launched as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum.
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Since September 2023, Paxos has published a monthly public reserve report and a third-party attestation.
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November 2023: the SEC opens a legal investigation into PayPal and Paxos.
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July 9, 2024: Paxos receives a formal termination notice from the SEC — no enforcement action recommended against Paxos Trust Company.
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April 29, 2025: the SEC also closes its investigation into PayPal, taking no action.
Paxos is the same regulated entity that also issues USDP (Pax Dollar) and previously issued BUSD for Binance — PYUSD*'*s reserves are held as segregated Paxos customer property, meaning they would not be lost even in the event of a PayPal corporate failure.