$USDC also known as USD Coin, is a cryptocurrency stablecoin pegged to the value of the United States dollar. This means that one USDC aims to maintain a value of approximately $1.00 USD.

Here's a breakdown of what you should know about USDC:

Key Features of USDC:

* Stable Value: USDC is designed to have a stable price, unlike more volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. This stability is achieved by backing each USDC token with a reserve of traditional assets, primarily cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, held in regulated U.S. financial institutions.

* Issued by Circle: USDC is issued by Circle, a regulated financial technology company. Initially, it was managed by the Centre Consortium, a partnership between Circle and Coinbase, but Circle is now the sole responsible entity.

* Fully Backed: Circle states that every USDC in circulation is fully backed by a U.S. dollar or an asset with equivalent fair value. They also publish monthly attestations by a Big Four accounting firm to provide transparency about their reserves.

* Runs on Multiple Blockchains: While it originated as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, USDC is now available on several other prominent blockchain networks, including Solana, Avalanche, TRON, Algorand, Stellar, Flow, Hedera, Base, and Optimism. This cross-chain compatibility increases its usability.