Circle integrates USDC directly into the Celo blockchain, enabling faster and cheaper transactions with its native stablecoin. This aligns with Circle and Celo’s shared mission to increase financial access.
San Francisco-based financial services company Circle announced the launch of USDC on the Celo blockchain earlier this week, allowing users to access the USD regulated stablecoin without the need to link assets between chains.
USDC is now natively integrated into Celo, joining existing stablecoin use cases on the blockchain, including remittances, savings, lending and payments. The move provides another way for developers and users to take advantage of USDC’s liquidity and settlement speed.
Celo is a proof-of-stake mobile blockchain focused on making crypto payments and financial services more accessible globally. It uses stablecoins for gas fees and settlements, enabling familiar fiat-like transactions.
According to Circle, adding USDC directly to Celo meets the goals of both companies to increase financial inclusion and prosperity globally. Circle facilitates over $100 billion in transactions annually, while Celo has an ecosystem of over 1,000 projects in more than 150 countries.
Celo’s USDC use cases highlighted by Circle include:
- Cheap money transfers and payments settled in seconds
- 24/7 trading, taking and lending DEX like Uniswap
- USDC denominated savings accounts without traditional bank accounts
Celo’s USDC has a token address of 0xcebA9300f2b948710d2653dD7B07f33A8B32118C. Celo community members have already proposed allowing the payment of gas fees in USDC, with a governance vote expected soon.
Circle offers fiat onramps to convert to Celo’s USDC through its Circle Mint accounts. The company said USDC is open source and available for any developer to integrate into Celo DeFi applications and services.
The addition of USDC marks an important stablecoin milestone for Celo as it increases real-world utility. For Circle, it continues its strategy of deploying USDC across multiple chains to increase access and use of dollar-pegged digital currencies.
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