Circle, Coinbase Bring USDC Stablecoin to Algorand’s Blockchain

The CENTRE consortium, led by Coinbase and Circle, announced on Thursday that its U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), would be launched on the Algorand blockchain as part of a new collaboration with the Algorand Foundation.  

Circle said it would also support digital dollar stablecoins that are interoperable with USDC on Algorand’s blockchain, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk. According to the firm, this will allow customers to easily move funds from their bank account or card into stablecoins on the Algorand blockchain.

“The combination of USDC and Circle Platform Services with the Algorand blockchain will create a foundation for developing a wide range of scalable, secure and compliant financial applications,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, in a statement. 

Launched in 2018,  USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with $928.4 million, but trails Tether which claims a market cap of $9.9 billion, according to data gathered by Messari. 

According to the emailed statement, Circle and the Algorand Foundation will also market the advantages of the Algo-based USD Coin to financial institutions that wish to develop applications on public chains. 

“We are excited to partner with Circle to provide financial institutions with the tools they need to leverage the unique benefits of USDC,” said Fangfang Chen, COO of Algorand Foundation.

In February, Tether announced that its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT, would be the first stablecoin to launch on Algorand.