- Coinbase says its clients can now buy USDC straight from their iOS and Android Coinbase apps, as well on Coinbase.com
- Only US customers can buy and sell the USDC currently, while users from other regions can only send and receive the stablecoin
- Coinbase Pro will also add support for USDC in the coming weeks
U.S-based digital assets exchange, Coinbase, has announced that its customers in supported regions across the globe can now buy, sell, send and receive Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin its creators claim is entirely collateralized by the US dollars, according to a Medium blog post by Coinbase on October 23, 2018.
Coinbase Crypto Exchange Lists its First Stablecoin
Coinbase, the most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has added the recently launched stablecoin by Circle Internet, USD Coin (USDC) to its growing list of crypto offerings which include bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and a few others.
The news is an exciting development for the platform and its users, as this is the first time the San Francisco-based digital assets exchange is listing a stablecoin.
The Coinbase team has however stated categorically that only US users will be able to buy, sell, send and receive USDC.
Users from other regions can only send and receive the stablecoin, pending when Coinbase starts servicing their areas.
The USDC Stablecoin Advantage
While the price of bitcoin and altcoins are never stable, stablecoins, as the name implies are built to overcome the volatility of DLT-based virtual currencies.
The creators of USDC claim it stands at 1:1 with the US dollar and a hundred percent “collateralised by a corresponding amount of fiat USD held in bank accounts subject to regular public reporting of the reserves.”
Built on the Ethereum smart contracts blockchain, USDC offers hodlers a whole lot of advantages that come with a genuine blockchain-powered digital dollar.
Due to USDC’s nonvolatile nature, it can be used in a vast array of distributed applications (dApps) and blockchain-based games for payments.
The stablecoin also makes life easier for developers as well as Fintech firms, as it is easier to program with.
For instance, “given the private keys for USDC, a program can easily send and receive them back and forth using the public Ethereum blockchain.”
With Tether already losing its place as the number one stablecoin, it remains to be seen whether USDC will stand the test of time.
As reported by Blockchain Reporter on September 11, 2018, Gemini cryptocurrency exchange launched its own stablecoin called the Gemini Dollar (GUSD).
GUSD is pegged to the US dollar and allows holders to buy, sell and withdraw it to their Ethereum wallets or convert it back into dollars right from the Gemini exchange.
