Stablecoin burning is the destruction of stablecoin tokens so that they no longer exist on the blockchain, one half of the process described in the main entry on stablecoin minting and burning. For a fiat-backed stablecoin, burning normally happens when a customer returns tokens to the issuer through stablecoin redemption: the issuer pays out the equivalent fiat money from its reserves and burns the tokens, keeping the supply in line with the reserves backing it.
Technically, burning is carried out by the token's smart contract, which reduces the total supply and the balance of the address holding the tokens, or by sending tokens to an address from which they can never be moved. Only the issuer, or an authorised role in the contract, can burn tokens in most fiat-backed designs. Some issuers also burn tokens when moving supply from one blockchain to another, burning on the source chain and minting on the destination.
In crypto-collateralised and algorithmic stablecoins, burning plays a different role. Users may burn the stablecoin to repay a loan and unlock collateral, or protocols may burn tokens to reduce supply when the price falls below its peg. The general practice of destroying crypto tokens is covered in burning tokens.