On October 23, Coinbase and Circle announced the launch of the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) on Coinbase platform.
Coinbase customers in supported jurisdictions can now buy, sell, send and receive the USD Coin stablecoin (USDC) at Coinbase.com and in the Coinbase iOS and Android apps. US customers outside New York state can buy and sell, and customers around the world can send and receive. More geographies will be available in the future.
This is the first time Coinbase has supported a stablecoin, which is fundamentally different from other cryptocurrencies. Unlike bitcoin or ether, a USDC is meant to represent a single US dollar (USD) that does not move up or down relative to its reference currency. One USDC is a 1:1 representation of a US dollar on the Ethereum blockchain.
Each USDC is 100% collateralized by a corresponding USD held in accounts subject to regular public reporting of reserves. The underlying technology behind the USDC was developed collaboratively between Coinbase and Circle, in the capacity as partners and co-founders of the new CENTRE Consortium.
The advantage of a blockchain-based digital dollar like USDC is easier to program with, to send quickly, to use in dApps, and to store locally than traditional bank account-based dollars.
According to the announcement, USDC will be coming to Coinbase Pro in the coming weeks, and is already supported on Coinbase Wallet, a user-controlled wallet where people can store ERC20 tokens.
