Daniel Walker
USD Coin (USDC), a leading stablecoin tied to the U.S. dollar, has achieved a major benchmark by exceeding a $60 billion market cap, reflecting its rising popularity. Issued by Circle and supported by a group including Coinbase, USDC continues to solidify its position in the cryptocurrency landscape.
Record-Breaking Growth and Market Trends
As of Wednesday, the circulating supply of USDC reached an all-time peak of 60.2 billion tokens, doubling from $30 billion in March 2024โa 100% year-over-year surge. Meanwhile, the broader stablecoin sector also hit a new high, with its total market cap climbing past $230 billion. USDC holds its rank as the second-largest stablecoin, behind Tetherโs USDT, which boasts a market cap exceeding $144 billion.
The stablecoinโs presence spans multiple blockchains, with Ethereum leading at over $36 billion in USDC supply. Solana follows with a hefty $10 billion, while other networks like Base ($3.8 billion), Hyperliquid ($2.2 billion), Arbitrum ($1.8 billion), and Berachain ($1 billion) also host significant amounts. In Q1 this year, Circle minted large batches of USDC on Solana, including several 250 million token tranches, pushing its issuance on the network beyond $10 billion by March 20.
Circleโs Expansion and Infrastructure Upgrades
Circle is actively broadening USDCโs footprint and enhancing its technology. This month, the company launched USDC in Japan through a collaboration with SBI VC Trade. It also unveiled plans to transition bridged USDC on Linea, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, to natively issued USDCโa first in the industry. Additionally, Circle introduced an enhanced cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP v2) on Avalanche, Base, and Ethereum, cutting transfer times from minutes to seconds. Support for Linea, Arbitrum, and Solana is slated to follow soon.
These advancements highlight USDCโs growing role in the digital economy, blending accessibility with cutting-edge blockchain innovation.
