Permanent Delegate

Token-2022 extension where an authority set by the issuer can transfer or burn any token account at any time. Both compliance tool and rug vector.

Permanent Delegate is one of the most powerful extensions of the Token-2022 standard. A one-time authority set by the issuer has unlimited delegate rights over every token account holding the mint. It can transfer, burn, or freeze at any time — without the owner’s signature, without warning.

Who needs it

Regulated stablecoin issuers like PayPal (PYUSD), Paxos (USDG), and Circle (EURC) need the extension to enforce sanctions, recover stolen funds, or correct compliance violations.

Abuse by the rug industry

According to threat research, RugCheck.xyz in 2026 flags more than 40 percent of all new Solana tokens as permanent-delegate-enabled. The pattern: launch token, publicly revoke mint authority (looks clean), seed liquidity, then burn all user tokens via the permanent-delegate authority. Estimated over 50 million US dollars in losses in Q1 2026.

Red-flag rule

Anonymous meme coins or unknown RWA tokens with active Permanent Delegate are red flags — unless the issuer is a licensed custodian. Check via Solscan or getAccountInfo --output jsonParsed.

Deep dive

Pillar Token-2022 explained.

Permanent Delegate