The USDC stablecoin was launched in September 2018 by the Centre consortium, founded by Circle and Coinbase. The main objective of the project is to create a digital asset that will be fully backed by real US dollars and can be used as a safe and transparent alternative to traditional payment systems.
Each USDC token is issued upon depositing 1 US dollar into the bank account of the project's partners. Thus, the exchange rate of USDC should always correspond to the dollar rate in a 1:1 ratio. Issuers undergo regular audits, which increases trust in the asset.
Since its launch, USDC has quickly become a popular tool in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. It is used on cryptocurrency exchanges, in decentralized finance (DeFi), for international transfers, and for settlements between companies.
A feature of USDC is the open standard of smart contracts based on Ethereum, which has allowed the stablecoin to be integrated into various applications and services. Over time, its support has spread to other blockchains, including Solana, Avalanche, Algorand, Tron, and Polygon.
By 2025, USDC has established itself as one of the key stablecoins with a market capitalization in the tens of billions of dollars, becoming an important element of the global crypto economy.
