PYUSD and USD1 explained: what a brand behind a stablecoin changes, what it does not, and how to hold or swap them

What a corporate stablecoin is

A corporate stablecoin is a dollar token sold under the name of a company whose main business is something else. The company brings distribution and trust in its logo; issuing, reserve-keeping and redemption are done by a regulated trust company under contract. PYUSD and USD1 are the clearest examples, and the split between brand and issuer explains most of what matters.

PYUSD: PayPal's dollar

PYUSD launched in August 2023 on Ethereum and was added to Solana in May 2024. The issuer is not PayPal but Paxos Trust Company, chartered by the New York Department of Financial Services. Reserves are dollar deposits, short-dated Treasuries and overnight repo, held by Paxos with monthly attestations. Paxos can freeze and burn tokens on a lawful order and has done so.

In 2025 PayPal expanded the chain list beyond Ethereum and Solana, with Arbitrum and Stellar announced; verify which networks are live before choosing one. Inside PayPal and Venmo, US customers can convert PYUSD to dollars one to one, which makes PYUSD the only stablecoin in this comparison with a genuine retail redemption path. It exists only inside the app for verified US users; a wallet holder sells PYUSD on the market like everyone else.

USD1: World Liberty Financial's dollar

USD1 was announced in March 2025 by World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture associated with the Trump family, and launched on BNB Chain and Ethereum. Reserves are short-dated Treasuries, dollar deposits and cash equivalents held by BitGo Trust Company, a regulated custodian; World Liberty Financial itself holds no charter. In 2025 it was reported as the settlement asset for a very large institutional investment into Binance, which is why supply grew faster than retail use. Further chains were announced in 2025; verify any list beyond BNB Chain and Ethereum.

The contract is issuer-administered and upgradeable; assume it can freeze addresses, like every regulated dollar token. Redemption is for institutional counterparties only.

What the brand changes

• Distribution. PayPal can put PYUSD in front of hundreds of millions of accounts and make it spendable at merchants, which no on-chain-only token can match.
• Listings and liquidity. A famous name gets listings and DEX pools quickly; USD1 reached a large supply on BNB Chain within months of launch.
• Attention. Regulators, journalists and politicians watch a branded token more closely, in both directions.

What the brand does not change

• The reserve. Held by Paxos or BitGo under the same kind of trust arrangement as any other fiat token; the brand adds no dollars.
• The freeze. A lawful order to the trust company is executed whether the label says PayPal or not.
• Redemption. Only verified customers of the issuer, or verified US PayPal users, get bank dollars. Self-custody holders exit through the market.
• The peg. Between redemptions the price is held by market makers; in a stress event the DEX price is what you get.

Political and regulatory exposure as a risk category

A branded token inherits its brand's problems. This is a risk class distinct from reserve quality or contract risk, and it deserves its own line.

For PYUSD the exposure is corporate and regulatory. The US securities regulator subpoenaed PayPal about PYUSD in late 2023 and later closed the inquiry without action; a future inquiry, a fine, or a change in PayPal's strategy could change how the token is supported.

For USD1 the exposure is political. The venture is tied to a sitting US president's family, the token featured in conflict-of-interest debates in Congress around the GENIUS Act in 2025, and its largest reported use was one foreign institutional deal. An election, a court case, a sanctions decision or a policy change could hit its acceptance in a way that has nothing to do with the Treasuries in the reserve. The reserve can be perfect and the token still hard to use.

Compared with USDT and USDC in self-custody

For a self-custody user: PYUSD and USD1 are reasonable tokens to pass through and poor tokens to sit in, because neither adds anything USDC does not give you, and both add a risk USDC does not have.

How to hold and swap without an account

Both tokens are available in the swap form on the homepage: PYUSD on Ethereum or Solana, USD1 on Ethereum or BNB Chain. Neither has a pair page, so exits run through USDT.

1. To buy: in the swap form, choose what you send, for example USDT TRC-20 or BTC, and PYUSD or USD1 on the network you want. Enter the amount and your address, optionally a refund address, click Swap now, and send exactly the shown amount. The floating rate locks after one Tron or two Bitcoin confirmations.
2. To exit: choose PYUSD or USD1 as what you send and USDT TRC-20 or BTC as what you receive. ERC-20 deposits lock after fifteen confirmations, BEP-20 after ten, Solana after one.
3. USDT left on BNB Chain or Ethereum moves to the cheapest network via USDT BEP-20 to USDT TRC-20 or USDT ERC-20 to USDT TRC-20; USDT TRC-20 to BTC takes it out of stablecoins entirely.

Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming PayPal will redeem tokens from your wallet. Redemption is inside the app, for verified US accounts.
• Sending PYUSD on the wrong chain. The Ethereum and Solana versions are separate assets to an exchange.
• Holding USD1 as a neutral dollar. Its acceptance is tied to a political brand; use it for the transaction, not the savings.
• Reading a big reported settlement as retail liquidity. One deal does not make a deep market on your pair.

Related pages

• Tether (USDT)
• USDT BEP-20 to USDT TRC-20
• USDT ERC-20 to USDT TRC-20