About USD Coin

USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin designed to keep its value close to $1. Founded in 2018 by CENTRE, which was created by noteworthy companies Coinbase and Circle, USDC has been successful in keeping its price near the assigned peg of one dollar.

USDC, a token based on the ERC-20 standard of Ethereum was created to be used more extensively in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications like Compound and Aave. It has also been accepted as collateral for Dai in MakerDAO’s network, proving its reliability and trustworthiness throughout numerous platforms.

USD Coin is a centralized stablecoin that relies on reserves held by its issuer to maintain value. At the time of this writing, Circle reported all USDC’s backing was made up of cash and short-term U.S government obligations. Those seeking to convert their USDC into USD can do so at any time with an exchange rate always very near 1 dollar per coin, redeemable directly from the coin’s issuer on a 1:1 basis.

Each month, the issuer of USD Coin releases an attestation by accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP, showing that the issuer holds enough US dollars to back all of the circulating USDC tokens on a 1:1 basis. You can view all the attestations released so far on the official CENTRE website.

USDC is built to offer the advantages of blockchain technology, such as efficient and rapid global transactions 24/7 with no price fluctuations. Yet it’s vital for users to bear in mind that USDC and other stablecoins are issued by a centralized body who has full control over blacklisting addresses or freezing tokens.

Here are a few of USDC’s most critical features that you need to know about:

  •    Launched in 2018 by CENTRE
  •    Initially launched as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain
  •    Reserve-backed stablecoin, can be converted to USD on a 1:1 basis
  •    Used in decentralized finance protocols and on centralized crypto exchanges
  •    Available on 8 blockchain platforms

After Tether’s USDT token earned acclaim in the crypto market, USD Coin was rolled out to vie for a stake. Furthering this competition, several other stablecoins also debuted in 2018–namely Pax Dollar (PAX), TrueUSD (TUSD) and Gemini Dollar (GUSD). All of these issuers strived to gain an edge over their rival with utmost transparency regarding the holdings backing up each token, hence ensuring more trustworthiness.

Heads above its peers, USD Coin continues to set the standard among 2018’s stablecoins. Even if USDT still retains a majority of market capitalization and trading volume, USDC has positioned itself within the upper echelon of digital assets based on market cap.

USD Coin (USDC) is a digital form of currency that functions as an alternative to fiat money on cryptocurrency exchanges. USDC has multiple applications and operates as a token across many blockchain systems, making it ideal for use in decentralized protocols like Uniswap, Compound and Aave, or NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.

Compared to other crypto assets, such as Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin holds its value steadily. This makes it perfect for payments; many companies and individuals favor stable cryptocurrencies in order to bypass the price instabilities connected with more common digital currencies. USDC is a blockchain-based asset that provides users with just this kind of peace of mind: protection from market volatility!

As one of the initial members of CENTRE consortium, Circle has created a range of products built on USDC stablecoin: from payments infrastructure to fixed income products and an API suite. With this innovative selection, your business can make quick and secure transactions with ease!