is there a way to mass-burn all SPL tokens in existence (of which may be in various ATAs) in one function call, using anchor?

Question

Let's say you created a spl token using anchor_spl::token::*;

Then you minted a bunch and its now made its way to a bunch of people's associated token accounts.

Is there a way to write an anchor function that can burn all of those SPL tokens in existence, simultaneously?

Answer 1

To put it simply, no. If the tokens are in other user's accounts, you can't take control of them, unless you get their private key or have them delegate to some other key.

Answer 2

You can only burn tokens if you own the token account that is holding the tokens or if the tokens in that token account have been delegated to you. However, you can freeze the token accounts of other users if you are the freeze authority for that particular token.