USD Coin was issued by Circle, a peer-to-peer payments company, and Coinbase Global (COIN 7.12%), a cryptocurrency exchange. Circle first announced plans to launch USD Coin on May 15, 2018, and raised $110 million. Although stablecoins aren’t investments, they have a variety of other uses, and you can often earn generous interest rates on them. Since its launch, USD Coin even became one of the largest stablecoins in the world and even became the first cryptocurrency selected for settling Visa (V 0.24%) transactions. The US government plays no role in issuing or managing USD Coin. It is not a central bank digital currency or a form of digital fiat currency.

A stablecoin can lose its peg and you could lose all or a substantial amount of your purchase price. Circle’s USDC is a prominent stablecoin, bridging the gap between TradFi and the What is USD Coin dynamic world of cryptocurrencies. Its aim to have unwavering value, seamless transactions, and integration into the DeFi landscape could make it a cornerstone of modern finance.

Who created US Dollar Coin?

Some of the latest news surrounding the USDC project is about the level of control project creators retain over the stable cryptocurrency. Apparently, the developers hold the right to blacklist addresses and freeze funds if there’s any suspicion that the USD Coins are used for illegal activities. USDC is an ERC-20 token issued on the Ethereum blockchain and can be stored in any Ethereum wallet.

That’s important because it shows there are actual funds in an account for every USDC. New coins are minted every time someone buys or converts currency and acquires USD Coin. If that happens, a new dollar is added to the bank account behind USD Coin. With that being said, USD Coin is one of the least risky coins you can invest in.

How To Buy USD Coin (USDC)

Today, USD Coin is one of the most popular stablecoins and a very common name in crypto circles. Circle is an official Money Transmitter, which https://www.tokenexus.com/what-is-bitcoin-halving/ makes the company an open financial book. Money Transmitters are US money service businesses that must comply with federal laws and regulations.

Because it uses the Ethereum blockchain, USDC transactions require Ethereum gas fees. There’s no minimum tokenization amount, and the process can take up to 2 business days. All USDC issuers are required to regularly report their USD holdings, which are then published by Grant Thornton LLP. “It also enables the transfer of capital across different geographical jurisdictions much faster, especially compared to traditional wire transfers,” Manoppo says.

Central Banks

If you’re selling USD Coin, it’s the same process only in reverse. The exchange uses a smart contract to remove the USDC tokens that you’re selling from circulation, and it pays you an equivalent amount of U.S. dollars from the reserve. However, USD Coin is backed by US Dollars held in segregated accounts at regulated financial institutions in the US. This is an added level of protection not offered by most cryptocurrencies, but we’d still advise you to be careful considering the overall risk of fraud in the crypto industry. When you sell USD Coin, your coin is “burned” and moved to an inaccessible account.