PYUSD or USDC — how does PayPal’s stablecoin compare with USDC and USDT?
PYUSD (Paxos (for PayPal)): $2.8B in circulation, not authorised under MiCA. USDC (Circle): $72.7B in circulation, authorised under MiCA in the EU. USDT (Tether): $183.4B in circulation, not authorised under MiCA.
PYUSD is PayPal’s dollar stablecoin, issued by Paxos under New York supervision and built into the PayPal and Venmo apps. USDC (Circle) and USDT (Tether) are far larger and more widely traded. All three aim at one dollar and are backed by cash and short-term US Treasuries.
How this list is made: computed from the live TokenBank dataset each time the page is built — 3 matching rows, each linked to its own page and source.
Figures from our live dataset · data as of 2026-10-11 · this answer as JSON · not investment advice
| Token | Issuer | Yield / return | Minimum | KYC to buy | EU (MiCA) | Chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PYUSD PayPal USD | Paxos (for PayPal) | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Not authorisedsource | Ethereum / Solana / Arbitrum (+16) |
| USDC USD Coin | Circle | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Authorised · ACPR (France) Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS source | Ethereum / Hyperliquid L1 / Solana (+154) |
| USDT Tether | Tether | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Not authorisedsource | Tron / Ethereum / BSC (+127) |
Side by side
| PYUSD | USDC | USDT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquidity | Traded on public markets — venues not verified | Traded on public markets — venues not verified | Traded on public markets — venues not verified |
| KYC to mint with the issuer | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required |
| KYC to buy on a market | No KYC | No KYC | No KYC |
| KYC to redeem | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required |
| Assets under management | $2,824,109,231 circulating | $72,656,933,418 circulating | $183,360,958,165 circulating |
| Jurisdiction | United States | United States | United States |
| How to buy | In the PayPal or Venmo app (KYC there), on exchanges, or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming with Paxos needs an institutional account. | On any exchange (KYC there) or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming 1:1 runs through Circle Mint, which is open to approved institutions only. | On any exchange (KYC there) or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming directly with Tether needs a verified account and is aimed at large amounts. |
More questions
Which is the largest?
By size, USDT at $183.4B, followed by USDC at $72.7B and PYUSD at $2.8B. Size is not safety, but a larger product usually means a deeper market to sell into.