Overview
USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market cap (~$40–60 billion) and the preferred regulated alternative to USDT for institutions, DeFi protocols, and US-based entities. Issued by Circle Internet Financial and originally co-founded with Coinbase under the Centre Consortium (dissolved 2023), USDC publishes monthly attestations by Deloitte. It is the native stablecoin of Base (Coinbase L2) and the reference currency for many institutional DeFi applications.
Who Created USDC?
USDC was created by Circle Internet Financial and launched in 2018. It is a Fiat-Backed stablecoin designed to maintain a stable value pegged to the US dollar.
Key Features
- +Monthly reserve attestations by Deloitte — highest transparency among fiat stablecoins
- +Native CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol) eliminates bridge risk for cross-chain transfers
- +US-regulated issuer (Circle holds multiple money transmitter licenses)
- +Native stablecoin on Base, the fastest-growing Ethereum L2 by TVL growth
- +Preferred collateral for institutional DeFi, MakerDAO, and regulated lending desks
- +Blackrock and Fidelity custody relationships add institutional credibility
Where to Use USDC
USDC is available on Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum and 7 other networks. You can use it on centralized exchanges for trading, in DeFi protocols for lending and borrowing, or as a stable store of value to park funds between trades.
Official website: https://circle.com/usdc