Circle Plans to Launch USDC on Arbitrum, Cosmos, NEAR, Optimism and Polkadot
Circle has announced that it plans to extend USDC’s availability to the Arbitrum, Cosmos, Near, Optimism and Polkadot networks.
The second largest stablecoin in market cap, USDC, will soon be available on five additional blockchain networks. The parent company of the stablecoin, Circle, announced that it plans to make USDC available on Arbitrum, Cosmos, NEAR, Optimism and Polkadot blockchain networks.
In particular, by the end of 2022, USDC will be available on Arbitrum, NEAR Optimism and Polkadot. USDC will launch on Cosmos by early 2023.
USDC’s Multichain Expansion Will Increase its Availability — VP of Product at Circle
USDC is already available on Algorand, Avalanche, Ethereum, Flow, Hedera, Solana, Stellar and TRON. Circle’s VP of Product, Joao Reginatto, explained that the expansion was meant to increase USDC’s availability at a time when a stable digital version of the US dollar is in demand.
He said, ‘The multi-chain expansion is intended to increase USDC’s native availability from eight ecosystems to thirteen and enables blockchain developers building on USDC and their users to experience greater liquidity and interoperability within the crypto economy. Extending multi-chain support for USDC opens the door for institutions, exchanges, developers and more to innovate and have easier access to a trusted and stable digital dollar.’
USDC’s Launch on Cosmos Could Fill the Void Left by Terra’s UST
USDC’s launch on Cosmos in 2023 could be a good play for Circle as the blockchain is the home of TerraUSD (UST), which collapsed in early May. The downfall of UST left a vacuum in the Cosmos ecosystem, and USDC stands a chance at filling it, especially if the bear market is over by then.
USDC’s Marketcap is Down 13% Since its Peak Around $55.9B
Also worth mentioning is that USDC benefited considerably after the collapse of UST in early May. Before the event, USDC’s market cap stood at $48.44 billion, only to shoot up by 15.4% to a new peak of $55.8 billion by June 19th.
~ By John P. Njui ~
However, its market cap has since dropped by 13% to its current value of $48.64 billion. The drop can be attributed to the general crypto market drawdown that has led to a considerable amount of stablecoin redemptions to the US dollar.
In addition, Binance recently implemented its plan of converting users’ balances of USDC, USDP and TUSD into BUSD, and the move could have reduced demand for USDC in the crypto markets.
~By John P. Njui~
