- USDC’s issuer, Circle, has launched a stablecoin on the Avalanche network.
- In response to this development, Circle anticipates that Avalanche projects will have new payment options and opportunities.
- The stablecoin was already available to Avalanche users through their Ethereum accounts, but it was wrapped, so users had to bridge it to Avalanche.
- Some viewed the fees associated with this as a source of friction.
Circle, the issuer of USDC, has launched a stablecoin on the Avalanche network. Circle expects that this development will provide new opportunities and payment options for projects being developed specifically in the Avalanche ecosystem. Users of Avalanche already had access to the stablecoin through their Ethereum accounts, but it was in a wrapped state, and users needed to bridge it to Avalanche.
The fees associated with this were viewed as a source of friction by some. As a result, users of Circle’s platform can now mint and redeem USDC directly on top of Avalanche’s C-chain. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, said “With USDC as the leading dollar digital currency for the decentralized economy, this integration will be instrumental for developers and communities looking to participate in one of the fastest, organically growing ecosystems in crypto.”
Ava Labs president John Wu commented on the launch, saying that this partnership could solve problems with the usage of fiat in different ways. He further stressed: “A fundamental restructuring of legacy payments and financial infrastructure is not only warranted but overdue. Together, Avalanche and Circle will pioneer solutions to these systemic challenges.”
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Circle announced its expansion strategy in June, aiming to launch on ten more blockchains, with the aim of strengthening its presence in defi environments. Since then, USDC has launched on Tron and now Avalanche, executing this strategy.
USDC’s expansion policy has been cited as a cause of its rapid growth this year, leading to a tenfold rise in market capitalization. At the start of January, there was a little over 4 billion USDC in circulation, and the number has now grown to 40 billion. Despite its huge growth, USDT still has a market cap of over 77 billion dollars, which puts it in second place.
