What is USD Coin?
USD Coin is a service to tokenize US dollars and facilitate their use over the internet and public blockchains. Besides, USDC tokens can be changed back to USD at any time. The execution of issuing and redeeming USDC tokens is ensured with ERC-20 smart contract.
How to use / participate?
USD Coin (USDC) is a 1:1 representation of one US dollar on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s an ERC-20 token and can be used with every app which supports the standard.
To tokenize or redeem USDC with Circle, you need to register an account, verify your identity (KYC), and link a legitimate bank account. Circle USD platform allows users to perform four core actions:
- Tokenize USD
- Redeem USDC
- Transfer USDC out to ERC20 compatible Ethereum addresses
- Deposit USDC from external Ethereum wallet addresses.
Circle USDC doesn’t charge users any fees for tokenizing and redeeming services, except there is a $50 commission for incorrect and rejected bank transfers. For Coinbase USDC operations, all the standard fees apply.
Tokenomics
USD Coins aren’t just being printed out of thin air. Circle guarantees that every USDC token is backed with a single US dollar. The process of turning US dollars into USDC tokens is called tokenization.
Tokenizing USD into USDC is a three-step process:
- A user sends USD to the token issuer’s bank account.
- The issuer uses USDC smart contract to create an equivalent amount of USDC.
- The newly minted USDC are delivered to the user, while the substituted US dollars are held in reserve.
Circulating supply: 33B USDC