USDC, or USD Coin, is a type of stablecoin that is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, meaning each USDC token is intended to always be worth exactly one dollar. It was launched by Centre, a consortium co-founded by Circle and Coinbase, with the goal of creating a regulated, transparent, and trustworthy digital dollar. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies that experience high volatility, USDC is designed to offer stability, making it highly useful for payments, trading, remittances, and decentralized finance (DeFi). Every USDC in circulation is backed by equivalent reserves held in cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries, which are regularly audited to ensure transparency. USDC operates on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and others, allowing for fast and low-cost transfers across a wide range of applications and ecosystems. Because of its regulatory compliance and strong backing, USDC has gained broad acceptance among institutions, crypto exchanges, and DeFi protocols. It plays a vital role in enabling dollar-denominated transactions without the need for a traditional bank, effectively bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology.
