Paxos, the issuer of PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin, accidentally minted a staggering $300 trillion worth of PYUSD in an incident that rattled the crypto world. The event unfolded rapidly on October 15, when blockchain data revealed Paxos had suddenly issued the enormous sum of the US dollar-pegged stablecoin. Within just 22 minutes, the entire amount was sent to a “burn address,” effectively destroying the tokens before they could enter circulation.

This $300 trillion mint was an error—far exceeding the combined GDP of every country on Earth. Paxos quickly acknowledged the mistake as an internal technical error rather than a security breach and assured users that all customer funds remained safe. The company also stated that they had identified and corrected the underlying issue.

The scale of the incident prompted immediate reactions across the crypto ecosystem. The decentralized finance protocol Aave temporarily froze trading for PYUSD due to the unprecedented size of the transaction. Briefly, the stablecoin’s price dropped by about 0.5%, but it quickly regained its peg to the US dollar.

While the event alarmed some users, it also highlighted the transparency inherent in blockchain technology. Unlike traditional finance, where similar errors can remain hidden for extended periods, blockchain allowed the mistake to be observed and rectified almost instantly. Industry experts noted that this transparency strengthens trust and governance within the digital asset ecosystem, as it enables rapid detection and correction of errors.

Incidents like this are rare, but massive token burns have occurred before in the crypto industry. However, none have come close to the sheer scale of this accidental $300 trillion mint and burn, making it one of the most extraordinary events in crypto history.

Despite the brief turmoil, PYUSD’s market position remained solid, and the incident reinforced how visible and traceable transactions are on public blockchains—turning a technical mishap into a testament to the power of transparency in digital finance.