PayPal’s Cryptocurrency Launch Helps Fake Token Grow by 30,000%

It has been less than a day since the launch of the new PayPal stablecoin (PYUSD), and yet, potential fraudsters are already trying to capitalize on the excitement with their own copy tokens.

According to DexScreener, a decentralized exchange scanner, about 30 new pairs of tokens with the PYUSD ticker appeared immediately after the announcement of the new digital asset. The doppelganger assets were issued on various networks, including Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Coinbase Base.

The largest impostor token, PYUSD, based on Ethereum, reached a staggering $ 2.6 million in trading volume just minutes after PayPal announced the launch of its own stablecoin. Despite rising by more than 30,000% in the first eight hours, the copycat cryptocurrency has now fallen by more than 66%.

It is worth noting that another impostor token called PepeYieldUnibotSatoshiDoge rose by more than 3,000% in just four hours.

Analysts emphasize that many of the fake PYUSD tokens are likely to be so-called «honeypots» — a phenomenon that means that when an investor buys a token, he or she cannot sell it and actually gives away their cryptocurrency. Experts say: «If investors are not able to independently verify smart contracts, they often do not find out that the token is a 'honeypot' until they try to sell their assets.»

PayPal’s genuine stablecoin can be exchanged for US dollars along with other cryptocurrencies available on the company’s network. Token holders will also be able to use PYUSD to pay for online purchases, but it is not yet known on which platforms. Eventually, PYUSD will be available in the PayPal app, Venmo, and other compatible crypto wallets outside the PayPal ecosystem.

PayPal also expects that PYUSD will be used to trade other digital assets and make in-game payments.

Just a week ago, the crypto market was replenished with more than 50 virtual coins with a UFO theme. The reason is that the US Congress held hearings at which an informant accused the US government of concealing alien visits to Earth and cooperation with extraterrestrial civilizations.