USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, trailing only Tether, continues its expansion across various blockchain networks, with its recent availability on Polkadot.
Circle, the issuer of USDC, made the official on September 19, revealing announcement that USD Coin is now live on the Polkadot network. As per Circle's website, Polkadot USDC can be accessed immediately by developers and users through the XCM protocol using Circle Account and Circle API.
Polkadot USDC is natively issued on Polkadot Asset Hub, a universal parachain designed for issuing, managing, and transferring digital assets within the Polkadot ecosystem. Circle emphasized that their account and API only support Polkadot USDC natively issued by Polkadot Asset Hub within the Polkadot ecosystem. This means users must transfer USDC from their Circle account to an external Polkadot Asset Hub wallet address before utilizing XCM.
Circle advised users to transfer USDC from Polkadot Asset Hub to other parachains via XCM, they should first transfer it back to Polkadot Asset Hub via XCM before depositing it into their Circle account, adding that attempting to deposit XCM-transferred USDC from parachains outside of the Polkadot Asset Hub into the Circle account may result in irrecoverable loss of funds.
The addition of Polkadot marks another step in the growing number of blockchain integrations for USDC, reinforcing its position as a primary interoperable cryptocurrency, facilitating low-cost payments. This new integration with Polkadot offers the opportunity to trade, lend, and borrow on various parachains like Centrifuge, HydraDX, and Moonbeam.
Polkadot, launched in 2020, functions as a network of multiple independent blockchains, referred to as parachains. These blockchains operate simultaneously, enhancing transaction speed while benefiting from Polkadot's overall security and decentralization. With this latest integration, USDC now supports a total of 14 different blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Tron, Stellar, Solana, and more. Notably, USDT, a rival stablecoin, currently supports 11 networks, with Tether discontinuing stablecoin minting on three blockchains, citing a lack of user interest, in August 2023.
