$USDC Stablecoins are a huge part of the cryptocurrency economy. They are a kind of foot in the door that let people store crypto without the risks of volatility. This is useful for people wanting to put money into various decentralized finance protocols or to trade between other cryptocurrencies with ease. 

More than $1.8 billion worth of USDC is in circulation today, with almost a billion dollars minted in the past three months alone. According to Coin Metrics, the value of USDC transferred each week hit new records this past week due to the rise of DeFi, or decentralized finance—non-custodial financial services. (USDC’s prominence is dwarfed by Tether, or USDT, which has a market cap of $14.3 billion).