PayPal stablecoin launch sparks wave of pretend PYUSD tokens

by Jeremy

Lower than 16 hours have handed for the reason that launch of PayPal’s new stablecoin (PYUSD), and opportunists, degens and potential scammers are already trying to money in on the hype with their very own copycat tokens.

In response to information from decentralized trade scanner DexScreener, practically 30 new token pairs sporting the ticker “PYUSD” have cropped up within the 16 hours for the reason that announcement.

The look-alike tokens have been minted on a wide range of totally different chains together with Binance Good Chain, Ethereum and Coinbases’ latest layer 2 Base.

It’s vital to notice that the actual PayPal USD token was created in November final yr, and might be verified on the following contract handle.

PayPal explicitly acknowledged that PayPal USD might solely be despatched between verified PayPal and different suitable wallets, making it extraordinarily unlikely that any of the tokens listed with the identical ticker on UniSwap or some other decentralized trade are the actual factor.

The biggest imposter PYUSD token, minted on Ethereum, has seen a staggering $2.6 million in buying and selling quantity since its inception simply minutes after PayPal introduced the launch of their stablecoin.

Worth motion for one imposter PYUSD token since inception. Supply: DexScreener

Regardless of surging greater than 30,000% within the first eight hours, the token has since plummeted greater than 66% from its all time excessive.

One specific token made a barely humorous tackle PayPal’s stablecoin, choosing the identify “PepeYieldUnibotSatoshiDoge.” The imposter token has gained greater than 3,000% within the final 4 hours.

Worth motion since inception for PepeYieldUnibotSatoshiDoge. Supply: DexScreener

It’s price noting that most of the pretend PYUSD tokens listed are probably what’s referred to as “honeypots” — which means that after an investor purchases the token, they’re unable to promote, and have successfully given away their crypto.

Associated: Paypal USD: Boon for Ethereum however not decentralization, says neighborhood

Until buyers are able to auditing sensible contracts themselves, they typically won’t discover out the token is a honeypot till they attempt to promote their holdings.

Degens have been recognized to race to mint new memecoins to capitalize on trending tales and developments.

On Aug. 3 nameless builders created an “LK-99” token, in a bid to money in on the superconductor craze.

Every week earlier than on July 27, degens crafted up a roster of greater than 50 UFO-themed memecoins as america’ Congress held a listening to the place a whistleblower accused the U.S. authorities of masking up alien visitation to Earth.

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