$USDC (USD Coin) is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, issued by Circle and backed by cash and U.S. Treasury bonds in regulated reserves. Operating as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and other blockchains, USDC offers stability in volatile crypto markets. It’s widely used in trading pairs on exchanges like Binance (e.g., ETH/USDC) for liquidity and hedging. USDC facilitates DeFi activities, cross-border payments, and merchant transactions with low-cost, near-instant settlements. Despite occasional de-pegging risks, as seen during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse, USDC’s transparency and regulatory compliance enhance its reliability.