The global cryptocurrency exchange based out of San Francisco, Coinbase, has announced the firm will now support Circle’s USDC stablecoin on its exchange and brokerage service platforms. Coinbase believes that blockchain-based digital dollars like USDC provide many benefits to the cryptocurrency market ecosystem.
Also read: Bitpay Announces Stablecoin Support for Merchant Settlement
Coinbase and the USDC Stablecoin
Coinbase announcing the launch of stablecoin support on its trading platform is part of a growing trend within the crypto-economy. On Oct. 23, the Californian exchange revealed that customers in supported jurisdictions can buy, sell, send and receive USDC. In the future, the company says customers in more geographical locations will have the ability to use USDC on the Coinbase platform. The San Francisco firm, noting this is the first time it has supported a stablecoin, says the digital asset is “fundamentally different from other cryptocurrencies.” Moreover, Coinbase says that the USDC token was a collaborative effort between them and the Boston-based Circle Financial.
“Each USDC is 100% collateralized by a corresponding USD held in accounts subject to regular public reporting of reserves,” Coinbase explains in its blog post. “The underlying technology behind the USDC was developed collaboratively between Coinbase and Circle, in our capacity as partners and co-founders of the new Centre Consortium.”
Coinbase describes USDC’s benefits throughout the announcement and emphasizes that the blockchain-based digital dollar is far more efficient to send and receive. Additionally, with USDC being an ERC20 standard token, it has the ability to be integrated with applications like Cryptokitties and other Ethereum projects. Lastly, Coinbase considers USDC to be a ‘programmable dollar’ in a sense that makes it easier for developers to add specific functionality.
“For example, given the private keys for USDC, a program can easily send and receive them back and forth using the public Ethereum blockchain,” Coinbase details.
2018 Has Seen a Flurry of Stablecoin Announcements
At the moment, the USDC token is only available on the brokerage side of Coinbase, but the coin will be added to the exchange shortly, the company adds. Coinbase says that the company will be fully compliant alongside Circle Financial by maintaining a “track record of security.” The firm also explains that the two companies’ reputations and compliance-first approach gives them a “unique position” in the growing stablecoin economy.
The Coinbase news follows the Bitpay announcement on Oct. 15, when the payment processor revealed it would support the gemini dollar (GUSD) and the centre coin (USDC) for merchant settlement. Over the last six months, stablecoins have been added to many exchanges and cryptocurrency infrastructure systems. Most of the recent stablecoin announcements have seen exchanges adding other types of stable tokens besides the popular tether (USDT) coin issued by Tether Limited and the Omni Layer.
So far, most of the exchanges and payment processors that boast significant cryptocurrency volume have been adding stablecoins like USDC, GUSD, PAX, and TUSD. Coinbase concluded its announcement by stating that the company has also added USDC to the user-controlled Coinbase ERC20-centric wallet. The addition follows the recent 0x (ZRX) listing Coinbase added to the firm’s lineup of tradable coins.
What do you think about Coinbase adding a stablecoin to the mix? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Images via Shutterstock, Coinbase, Circle Financial, and Pixabay.
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