USD Coin (USDC) is the second most popularly used stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. It gives all the benefits of cryptocurrency without worrying about high volatility due to its peg and is issued by regulated financial institutions.
The Circle consortium created USDC to combine innovation in the digital currency space with the traditional financial industry worldwide. Circle, the firm behind the creation of the USD Coin, is a global fintech firm that has partnered with leading blockchain networks to grow the adoption of its stablecoin.
The USDC price remains pegged to that of the US dollar, thanks to dollar reserves maintained by Circle. Circle maintains the peg, keeping the USD Coin price steady, as it holds an equal amount of US dollars in reserve as the number of USDC tokens in circulation. The firm holds the reserves in a combination of cash and short-term US Treasury bonds.
Some leading blockchains partnered with Circle and offer native support for the USDC coin include Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, Stellar, and Avalanche. On Ethereum, USDC functions as an ERC-20 token while it works as an ASA token on Algorand and an SPL token on the Solana network.
