Token-2022 permanent delegate

Token-2022 is Solana's second token program. It adds optional extensions to a mint, and the permanent delegate is the most powerful of them.

A permanent delegate can transfer or burn tokens from any account that holds the token, without the holder's signature. An ordinary delegate is approved by one holder for one account and a set amount; a permanent delegate is set on the mint and covers every holder.

Why a token would have one

Issuers of regulated assets use it to meet legal obligations, for example to recover tokens after a court order or to burn a sanctioned balance. It is the on-chain form of a power a bank already has over a deposit.

Real example

PYUSD (PayPal USD) is a Token-2022 mint with a permanent delegate. Its token page names the delegate's address, read from the mint's permanentDelegate extension.

What to look for

The extension is listed in the mint. Our token pages show every Token-2022 extension a mint carries and call out a permanent delegate in red.
Who holds it. A delegate that is a known issuer's multisig means something different from one that is a fresh, unknown address.
What the token claims. A permanent delegate on a token marketed as "fully decentralized" contradicts the claim.