Article Summary

**$300 Trillion Crypto Blunder: Paxos Accidentally Mints Massive PYUSD Token Supply** Blockchain infrastructure giant Paxos made cryptocurrency history Wednesday with an unprecedented minting error, accidentally creating 300 trillion PayPal USD (PYUSD) tokens in what may be the largest accidental token mint ever recorded. This staggering mistake involved one of the most prominent stablecoins in the digital asset ecosystem, highlighting critical smart contract vulnerabilities within decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The astronomical figure dwarfs Bitcoin's total 21 million coin supply cap and represents a catastrophic operational failure for the regulated blockchain company. PYUSD, PayPal's dollar-backed stablecoin designed to facilitate cryptocurrency payments and DeFi transactions, experienced this massive oversupply incident that could have triggered severe market disruptions across blockchain networks. This incident underscores the importance of robust security protocols and smart contract auditing in the cryptocurrency space. While Paxos quickly addressed the error, the event raises questions about institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure reliability and the potential market impact of such massive token minting mistakes in the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.