On the other hand, stablecoins such as USDC can offer a credible store of value alongside avoiding the volatility evident in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins help in safeguarding your capital and profits in deflationary periods. Most important of all, stablecoins allow users to transfer funds without leaving the crypto ecosystem as they don’t need conversions to fiat currency. Therefore, stablecoins What is USD Coin can also provide a viable solution for unregulated exchanges which don’t facilitate conversion to fiat currency. In addition, stablecoins present a cost-efficient and faster alternative when compared to fiat money. The value of the stablecoin is meant to remain the same as the fiat currency it is pegged to, meaning that you don’t have to worry about your coins losing value over the years.
Sign up for free online courses covering the most important core topics in the crypto universe and earn your on-chain certificate – demonstrating your new knowledge of major Web3 topics. Smart contracts on Algorand might require USDC to power them, for instance. For investors, USDC also has the advantage of being subject to more regulatory oversight because it’s considered a stored value instrument in most U.S. states. Build your identity as a certified blockchain expert with 101 Blockchains’ Blockchain Certifications designed to provide enhanced career prospects. You can buy fractions of USD Coin just like you can divide U.S. dollars into pennies. You can purchase as little as 0.001—equal to one-tenth of a cent—of USD Coin.
USD Coins Pros
Centre, the consortium that manages the USD Coin crypto, releases monthly reports issued by Grant Thornton, LLP, one of the top accounting firms in the country. Its reports provide the number of USDC in circulation and the total value of the reserves backing USD Coin. That’s important because it shows there are actual funds in an account for every USDC.
- Circling back to USDC though, the digital currency is backed by a consortium of companies, called Centre.
- Here are the top ten world crypto exchanges where traders can buy USD Coin in 2023.
- USDC is a joint effort of the crypto exchange platform named Coinbase and Circle.
- Interestingly, almost every big cryptocurrency exchange accepts USDC stablecoin.
- You are now leaving the SoFi website and entering a third-party website.
- Sometimes investors try to eke out small gains by selling USDC on crypto exchanges for a few fractions of a penny higher than $1.
In September 2022, Circle and Robinhood teamed up to make USD Coin the first stablecoin offered by the broker. Although stablecoins aren’t investments, they have a variety of other uses, and you can often earn generous interest rates on them. Since its launch, USD Coin even became one of the largest stablecoins in the world and even became the first cryptocurrency selected for settling Visa (V 1.49%) transactions. It falls into the category of stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to another asset. In USD Coin’s case, the asset is the U.S. dollar, and one USDC is designed to maintain a value of $1.
Transaction Times
As an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, USDC boasts liquidity, accessibility, and adaptability. But, like with all financial instruments, it’s not without its intricacies and nuances. If it works the https://www.tokenexus.com/ way it’s supposed to work, any USD Coin you buy will be worth the same amount in one year, five years, and so on. Because it uses the Ethereum blockchain, USDC transactions require Ethereum gas fees.
Another remarkable highlight regarding USD Coin points to the fact that it was the first stablecoin listed on the Coinbase crypto exchange. Subsequently, another notable exchange, Binance, added USDC to its listing. Popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether take up all the attention in the crypto space. Both the coins account for a total of 60.6% market share in the domain of crypto, thereby proving their dominance. On the other hand, many new blockchain projects and cryptocurrencies have been gradually evolving for a large-scale transformation in finance.
Ethereum Classic
However, because the price of anything is determined by buyers and sellers, it can fluctuate slightly from time to time. Before going further, let us first discuss what a stablecoin is to ensure we are on the same page. Since USDC is not volatile, it works well as a payment method for goods and services. You can use USD Coin to pay for gift cards on Bitrefill, electronics on Newegg, or any other merchant that supports BitPay.