Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), one of the leading stablecoins in the cryptocurrency market, is set to launch natively on the Celo blockchain. This development, announced by the Celo Foundation, is expected to enhance the utility of Celo’s blockchain by increasing its use cases for real-world assets and improving the convertibility of USDC into fiat currencies.
Celo, initially an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible layer-1 chain, is transitioning to an Ethereum layer-2 protocol. USDC will join Celo’s native proof-of-stake governance token, CELO, in this evolving ecosystem. A significant aspect of this integration is the upcoming community proposal to make USDC the primary gas currency for transactions within the Celo ecosystem.
Celo already hosts several stablecoins, including cUSD (Celo Dollar), cEuro, cREAL (pegged to the Brazilian real), and eXOF (pegged to the West African CFA franc), issued by Mento Lab. These stablecoins are part of Celo’s broader strategy to provide diverse financial tools on its platform.
Celo is known for its commitment to regenerative finance (ReFi), emphasizing sustainability and carbon neutrality. Its mobile-first approach is particularly tailored to enhance blockchain accessibility in emerging economies. This focus was highlighted by the launch of the Opera MiniPay wallet on Celo in September, targeting African users with mobile phones.
Shamus Noonan, Circle’s senior business development manager, remarked that the partnership with Celo would expand USDC access and capitalize on Celo’s mobile-first user base in regions with high blockchain adoption. Additionally, the integration will provide institutional and enterprise users with access to the Circle Mint on/off-ramp, facilitating increased activity on the Celo platform.
USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, following Tether (USDT). Circle, the company behind USDC, has been actively expanding its global footprint. It received conditional registration as a virtual assets service provider in France and has formed partnerships in Japan and with Visa, expanding the use of USDC on Ethereum and Solana.
Despite these advancements, Circle has faced allegations related to money laundering, which the company has denied. These allegations highlight the ongoing challenges and scrutiny faced by companies operating in the rapidly evolving and often controversial cryptocurrency space.
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