# Burn

Removing stablecoin units from circulation, which lowers total supply; in the USDC and USDT contracts only the issuer's minter or owner role can do it.

Canonical: https://achivx.org/glossary/burn/
Updated: 2026-11-01

To burn is to remove stablecoin units from circulation, which lowers the token's total supply. In Circle's USDC contract a minter can burn tokens it holds, and the burn subtracts from total supply. Tether's USDT contract on Ethereum calls this redeem: an owner-only function that withdraws tokens from the owner address and lowers total supply. The GENIUS Act lists 'burn' with seize and freeze among actions a lawful order may require of an issuer.

## What the sources say

| Source | Quote | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Circle FiatTokenV1.sol: burn | "@notice Allows a minter to burn some of its own tokens." | [GitHub](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/circlefin/stablecoin-evm/master/contracts/v1/FiatTokenV1.sol) |
| Circle FiatTokenV1.sol: burn lowers totalSupply | "totalSupply_ = totalSupply_.sub(_amount); _setBalance(msg.sender, balance.sub(_amount)); emit Burn(msg.sender, _amount);" | [GitHub](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/circlefin/stablecoin-evm/master/contracts/v1/FiatTokenV1.sol) |
| TetherToken source on Etherscan: redeem | "// Redeem tokens. // These tokens are withdrawn from the owner address" | [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/address/0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7#code) |
| TetherToken source: redeem lowers total supply | "_totalSupply -= amount; balances[owner] -= amount; Redeem(amount);" | [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/address/0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7#code) |
| GENIUS Act, sec. 2(16): lawful order | "requires a person to seize, freeze, burn, or prevent the transfer of payment stablecoins issued by the person" | [govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm) |

## Related terms

- [Mint](/glossary/mint/)
- [Net issuance](/glossary/net-issuance/)
- [Redemption](/glossary/redemption/)
- [Seizure](/glossary/seizure/)

## See also

- Data: [Stablecoin mint and burn: net issuance](/data/issuance/)
- Explainer: [What is a mint or a burn, and why isn't it a payment?](https://achivx.com/academy/how-it-works/what-is-a-mint-or-burn.html)
- Review: [revain.org/coins/usdc/](https://revain.org/coins/usdc/)
- Review: [revain.org/coins/usdt/](https://revain.org/coins/usdt/)

Checked against the sources on 2026-11-01.

## revain.org
- https://revain.org/coins/usdc/
- https://revain.org/coins/usdt/

## Sources
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/circlefin/stablecoin-evm/master/contracts/v1/FiatTokenV1.sol
- https://etherscan.io/address/0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7#code
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm