---
title: "Mint and burn"
description: "How stablecoin supply tracks its reserves — issuers mint new tokens when dollars come in and burn tokens when dollars are redeemed."
reviewedBy: "Nikhil Srinivasan, Founder & CEO"
updated: "July 2026"
canonical: "https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/mint-and-burn"
---

# Mint and burn

Minting creates new stablecoin tokens; burning permanently removes them from circulation. Issuers mint when customers deposit dollars and burn when tokens are redeemed for dollars, so the supply in circulation tracks the reserves backing it. Mint-and-burn is the mechanism that keeps a fully reserved stablecoin redeemable at par.

The cycle is the stablecoin’s plumbing: dollars arrive at the issuer, an equal amount of tokens is minted; tokens come back for redemption, they are burned and dollars go out. Transfers between holders never change supply — only issuance and redemption do. The same cycle is what holds the peg: if the token trades above a dollar, traders mint at par and sell; if it trades below, they buy at the discount and redeem at par — both trades pull the price back to one dollar. Reserve attestations exist to verify that the cycle held: tokens outstanding matched by assets in reserve.

For businesses paying and getting paid, mint and burn is background machinery. On Infinite, conversion between fiat and stablecoins runs behind the API — you fund and settle in local currency while issuance, redemption, and routing happen underneath, with every counterparty screened before funds move.

## Frequently asked questions

### Who can mint and burn stablecoins?

Only the issuer, against actual reserve flows — dollars in, tokens minted; tokens redeemed, tokens burned. Holders transferring stablecoins between each other never change the supply in circulation. [Stablecoin](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/stablecoin.md)

### How does mint and burn keep a stablecoin at one dollar?

Through redemption arbitrage. If the token trades above one dollar, traders deposit dollars with the issuer to mint at par and sell at the higher price; if it trades below, they buy at the discount and redeem at par. Both trades push the price back toward the peg.

### Does sending a stablecoin payment mint new tokens?

No. A payment transfers existing tokens from one holder to another. Minting and burning happen only at issuance and redemption — the on-ramp and off-ramp points where fiat changes form. [On-ramp and off-ramp](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/on-ramp-off-ramp.md)

## Where it fits on Infinite

- [Stablecoin Payments](https://infinite.net/payments/stablecoins)
- [How stablecoin payments work](https://infinite.net/learn/guides/how-stablecoin-payments-work.md)

## See also

- [Stablecoin](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/stablecoin.md)
- [Reserve attestation](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/reserve-attestation.md)
- [On-ramp and off-ramp](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/on-ramp-off-ramp.md)