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Investing.com – Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:) is taking a stake in USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, signifying a closer relationship between the two cryptocurrency heavyweights.
The two companies also said they would shut down the Center Consortium, a private governance organization for USDC, as they now see “regulatory clarity” on stablecoins.
“Coinbase believes in the fundamental importance of stablecoins to the broader crypto economy and is taking a stake in Circle,” Coinbase said on Monday. “This means that Coinbase and Circle will now have an even greater strategic and economic alignment on the future of the financial system. Coinbase is committed to the long-term success of the stablecoin ecosystem and USDC in particular” .
USDC currently accounts for around 21% of the entire stablecoin market, with over $26 billion in tokens in circulation. is by far the largest stablecoin with a market value of $82.8 billion and a share of nearly 67% of the overall market.
Circle established the Consortium Center in 2018 to help shape policy thinking around stablecoins, a vital part of the crypto ecosystem that allows traders to buy into and out of the market without touching fiat currencies or the system. traditional banking.
Circle said that in addition to Coinbase joining as an investor and the closure of the Consortium Center, the company plans to launch USDC on six new blockchains between September and October. Blockchains are the decentralized underlying ledgers on which digital currencies are issued and traded.
Circle did not name the blockchains on which it plans to launch USDC, but said the move would bring the total number of blockchains on which USDC is available to 15, as the company seeks to “continue to accelerate USC’s dynamic with developers around the world”.