Coinbase now supports Circle's stablecoin USDC

The US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced the support for Circle's stablecoin USDC. The new asset will be available for trading on Coinbase.com and via IOS and Android-based mobile apps.

Coinbase users will be able to sell, send and receive USDC stablecoin, which is fully is backed by US Dollars and supported. At this stage, geographical limitations to USDC apply. Thus, US customers onside New York state can buy and sell the coin, while global customers can only send and receive. The company plans to extend geographies and functionality in the future.

"This is the first time Coinbase has supported a stablecoin, which is fundamentally different from other cryptocurrencies. Unlike bitcoin or ether, a USDC is meant to represent a single US dollar (USD) that does not move up or down relative to its reference currency. One USDC is a 1:1 representation of a US dollar on the Ethereum blockchain," the company says in the press release.

Each USDC coin is backed by US Dollar. The collateral is kept in the accounts in accordance with regulatory requirements. According to the company's statement, the technology behind the stable coin was developed by Coinbase and Circle in partnership with the new CENTRE Consortium.

"Today’s launch is made possible by the collaboration between Coinbase and Circle, as co-founders of the new CENTRE Consortium. Both Coinbase and Circle operate with a compliance-first approach and a track record of security. That’s why we believe CENTRE is uniquely positioned to offer USDC to people who want to take advantage of the benefits of stablecoins."

The exchange offers improved send and receive procedure for both large amounts of USDC for business purposes and small e-commerce payments.  As USDC is based on ERC20 standard, it is compatible with numerous dApps that supports such tokens, which means that USDC can be used as a digital form of Dollar for buying items within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
USDC is already supported by Coinbase Wallet, and it will be available on Coinbase Pro platform in the coming weeks.