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A Beginner’s Guide to USDC

The US Dollar Coin, or usually referred to as USDC, is a stablecoin that is redeemable for $1.00 per 1 USD Coin, therefore making it have a stable value. Through a joint-venture by Coinbase and Circle, USDC definitely gained more popularity as the years progressed, as it gives the much-needed stability in the crypto market since its launch in September 2018. As of March 2021, a total of 10.5 billion USDC is in circulation already, with 24-hour volumes of 2 billion dollars.

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USDC and What Makes it Special

Even though the US Dollar Coin (USDC) is not the first, or most popular, US Dollar-backed coin, there are still a number of reasons why it stands out against its competitors. As Tether received intense scrutiny over its finances’ state, it opened an opportunity for other US Dollar-backed coins to progress, mainly due to their better transparency over audit and funding. Some of these are True USD, Paxos, Gemini Dollar, and US Dollar Coin (USDC).

A few items that make USDC stand out against other cryptocurrencies are:

It is regulated.

Among the list of those registered with the government’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) Money Service Business is USDC’s parent company, Circle.

It is audited.

And not just by anyone. They enlisted the services of Grant Thornton to do the audits for them, who, incidentally, is one of the top 10 accounting firms in the world.

It is fast.

For transactions involving US Dollars, people and institutions, it usually takes a huge amount of time, especially when banks are involved. With this in mind, USDC made sure to offer the stability and desirability of the US Dollar via the speed of cryptocurrency transactions.

It is divisible by the cent.

Just like a US Dollar, one can hold as little as 0.000001 worth of USD Coin.

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USDC and its Production

Unlike the other cryptocurrencies, USDC is not mined. It can be bought as Ethereum ERC-20, Solana SPL, and Algorand AAA tokens using US Dollars on a number of major exchanges.

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There are a total of ten billion tokens in circulation currently.

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There are also cryptocurrency wallets where you can directly trade or purchase USDC stablecoins, like Coinbase. You can get it from Coinbase by doing the following:

1. Sign up for or login to a Coinbase account
2. You can convert USDC free of fees at a ratio of 1:1 (1 USDC = 1USD)

In case you need to use the USDC, you can send it elsewhere or you can convert back into USD directly on Coinbase.

How it Works - USDC explained

Just like with other cryptocurrencies, a customer must meet the Know Your Customer (KYC) identity requirements. Once done, they can make a wire transfer in US Dollars by linking their bank account. The wired money was then converted to USDC, hence enabling the customer to use it to trade for other cryptocurrencies. The customer also has the ability to convert the USDC back into US Dollars, which they will receive then by wire transfer to their connected bank account.

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USDC and its Uses

You can use the USDC to trade on Poloniex and Coinbase, as well as other major exchanges like Binance and Huobi.

It can also be used with a number of decentralized finance protocols like BlockFi, which offer interest just for depositing your USDC.

USDC can be used to trade with the more volatile cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin since stablecoins like Tether and DAI usually hold a stable asset for crypto traders.

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Here are other places where you can use USDC:

• Abacus Protocol, BitPay, Centrifuge, Coinbase Commerce, Coinbase Wallet, Compound, Dharma, DyDx Exchange, Ledger, Loom, Melonport, Nexo, Nitrogen, OpenSea, Origin, etc.

Gracias!

Thanks to @yohan2on for this homework task. Shoutout to @steemitblog, @steemcurator02, and @steemcurator01 for this chance too.

I have enjoyed this learning experience, I'm already looking forward to @yohan2on's and all the professor's future tasks.