Boston-based Circle announced on Wednesday the launch of its USD coin. Circle reported that it and the CENTRE open source consortium introduced a service to tokenize US dollars and use those dollars over public blockchains on the internet, which is USD//Coin, also known as USDC.
Circle previously announced plans to launch the USD Coin and revealed the Coin is a solution that enables customers to purchase and use USDC fiat tokens for payments and trading in the crypto ecosystem. USD Coin notably provides a full reserve US dollar-backed stablecoin, and is based on the open source fiat stablecoin framework developed and governed by CENTRE, which will provide independent oversight of Circle’s offering.
“Circle USDC addresses these problems by providing detailed financial and operational transparency, operating within the regulated framework of US money transmission laws, and reinforced by established banking partners and auditors. It is built on an open source framework with an open membership scheme that eligible Financial Institutions (FI) can participate in (CENTRE). USDC will be ERC-20 tokens minted, issued, and redeemed based on network rules defined by CENTRE.”
Circle stated that USDC is built on openness and accountability, enshrined in the governance and technology standards effort of CENTRE. Commercial issuers of USDC are required by CENTRE to:
- Be licensed to handle electronic money, such as banking, money transmission or trust charters
- Have audited AML and Compliance programs that meet FATF standards
- Back all tokens on a fully reserved basis and provide monthly published proof of reserves attested to by certified public auditors
- Support fungible exchange and redemption of USDC tokens from other authorized issuer members
- Meet other reporting and review requirements established by CENTRE
The company then explained:
“Leveraging $20 million in funding raised last year, CENTRE is launching its broader membership framework which includes other established financial technology firms as additional issuers. Over the coming weeks, CENTRE will share more about these other members beyond Circle.”
In regards to the future plans, Circle added:
“We believe that an open internet of value exchange can transform and integrate the world more deeply, eventually eliminating artificial economic borders and enabling a more efficient and inclusive global marketplace that connects every person on the planet. The future of the global economy is open, shared, inclusive, far more evenly distributed, and powerful not only for a few chosen gatekeepers, but for all who will connect.”
