Publicly announced on the 15th of May 2018, USD Coin is a digital stablecoin linked to the United States dollar bill. It is an open-source, smart contract-based token created by an association of people called CENTRE.
It has versatile interoperability and can operate on 4 different blockchain networks, ranging from Ethereum, Solana, Aglorand, and Stellar. This feature allows users to access the coin through any kind of blockchain from anywhere in the world.
The USDC is issued by several regulated financial organizations and is fully backed by reserve assets (although their website once claimed to be fully backed by every existing United States dollar). It is also one of the few stablecoins that can be redeemed in exchange for a physical United States dollar bill as it operates on a 1:1 basis. Hence, a USDC token will remain the exact price of a $1 bill.
The USDC aims to be the digital money for this digital age. Like other digital currencies, USDC is cheaper and more secured than the current form of payment, it also has a transactional speed that is similar to that of the internet and offers low transactional charges.
Like similar stablecoins, USDC is centralized and is controlled by an association of digital currency gurus. Despite this lack of decentralization setback, the acquisition of this coin remains constant as users and religious crypto holders keep clinging unto it.
The popularity of the owners and developers and their associated companies has cleared doubt and proved the coin’s legitimacy to the users; the years of reputable exploits performed by these organization in the digital currency market has also helped the coin’s influence.
Who are the Founders of USD Coin (USDC)?
The founders of USD Coin is a group of people who govern and regulate the coins’ affairs and are called CENTRE. The Centre is a membership-based consortium that creates technical policies and financial standards for stablecoins.
This association comprises of the popular cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase and a group of developers called CIRCLE. The circle handles the building and development of the coin and its associated networks while Coinbase provided the avenue for the coin to become a major exchange value for its users.
What is USD Coin (USDC) used for?
The USDC presents itself as an item of value to various individual categories. Business owners, profit-oriented companies, and entrepreneurs can run their activities on USDC as it promises a more efficient, scalable, and global experience compared to the traditional bank.
It provides a secured environment for received and transferred custody funds and payments sent from anywhere in the global sphere. Through its integrated suites of APIs, users can easily streamline all their operations that are connected to the USDC network and transactions that are conducted with the USD coin.
These benefits are not only limited to business owners as money managers, and market makers can also take advantage of the coin and use it to gain a market edge over others. The Circle account provides a home for institutional traders with and allows them to access all other liquidities and USDC transactions from all over the world.
Exchangers and agency brokers can use the Circle account to aggregate USDC liquidity and allow trading pairs between the USDC and other top crypto assets.
The no code, no stress feature it presents to users has made it a top-rated choice as there is no need to request the services of software developers before you have an intuitive dashboard and an interactive interface for your customers. The Circle account is already developed with this feature and therefore allows users to transfer funds, view their balance, and even connect to their bank account directly.
What Is the Unique Point of USD Coin (USDC)?
There are several unique points of USDC and one is its ability to run on versatile blockchain platforms. Asides from the original USDC, there are other subcategories and they include Multichain USDC, Ethereum USDC, Aglorand USDC, Solana USDC, Stellar USDC, and Tron USDC.
Ethereum USDC is one of the pioneering blockchain technology built on the Ethereum blockchain platform. Ethereum is a foundational blockchain technology that houses almost 90% of consumer applications today.
The ERC-20 token or the Ethereum USDC is the most liquid and widely adopted USDC token and partakes in deep liquidity, trading, and other financial activities on worldwide exchange platforms. It meets the needs of digital wallets, traders, exchangers and custodians, and other stablecoins by reducing the difficulty of converting USDC into other currencies.
The Aglorand USDC was designed in the late 2020s and serves as a foundation of speedy, simple, and low-cost movement of funds between the traditional banks and USD Coins in the Aglorand blockchain. As of February 2018, it has accumulated over 68 million Aglorand USDC in circulation.
Launched in January 2021, Stellar USDC has already placed itself as a leading coin in popular crypto exchange platforms and Defi ecosystems like FTX and oxygen protocol. The Solana network that houses Solana USDC comprises of a powerful tool called Wormhole, it is a bridge connecting Ethereum and Solana.
How many USD Coin (USDC) is in circulation?
There are approximately 27,315,000,000 USDC coins in circulation and it has accrued a total live market capitalization value of $27.7 billion United States dollars.
Is the USD Coin (USDC) Network secured?
USDC has a very secured network, all thanks to Circle. The company’s information security program is based on an industry-standard NIST Cybersecurity Framework and an ISO with code 27002.
The program was underwritten by A-rated insurers and brokered by Marsh’s Digital Assets Risk Transfer (DART) team and offers coverage against digital asset theft, provides hot security, and is built to ward off any form of attack
The security controls are documented in detailed security policies and perform various functions like; Periodic risk assessment, intrusion detection, system hardening and antivirus, system firewalls, and controls.
How do I buy USD Coin (USDC)?
Step 1:
Open an account with any crypto trading platform if you intend on purchasing as an individual.
There are over 70 exchangers that offer USDC for sale or for trade. Research on any and choose the desired exchange and sign up by providing necessary personal information, verified documents, licenses and identification cards, and links to personal financial accounts.
Step 2:
Make your purchase
After successfully signing in, create a wallet that will house your tokens. There are over 20 wallets that allow users to have USDC wallets. These platforms are versatile enough to allow for different payment methods.
Papal, Credit Card, and P2P are some of the popular payment methods. Choose any of these methods that are most suitable and get you USDC tokens and transfer them to your wallet. Ensure you exercise a high level of caution and security when accessing your wallet for the fear of online thieves or hackers.
You can trade, hold and perform any other financial activity with your USD Coins as there are over 100 app and service providers that accept USDC as payment.
For Business owners
For business owners and entrepreneurs that would like to incorporate USDC into their business, open a Circle account to get started. The circle account provides business owners a well-integrated and developed API that serves as an entryway to their financial success.
They will be required to provide their personal information to complete your Circle account. Before you receive your designated API key, provide the information about your business. This information list includes the company’s name and website and the type of product sold.
Which Cryptocurrency Wallet Supports USD Coin (USDC)?
The PTPWallet platform supports many cryptocurrencies simultaneously, such as USDC tokens. Because of its speed, flexibility, and unique features, it has grown to become one of the most used new platforms. In addition, users can easily use PTPWallet as their main USDC wallet as it offers a simple and interactive interface, making it easy to navigate its system.
