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About USD Coin
Disclosures
USD Coin risk
This material is for informational purposes only and is not exhaustive of all risks associated with trading USD Coin. All crypto assets are risky, there are general risks in investing in USD Coin. These include volatility risk, liquidity risk, demand risk, forking risk, cryptography risk, regulatory risk, concentration risk & cyber security risk. This is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation; (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold crypto assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Profits may be subject to capital gains tax. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding crypto assets is suitable for you in light of your financial situation. Please review the Risk Summary for additional information.
Investment Risk
The performance of most crypto assets can be highly volatile, with their value dropping as quickly as it can rise. You should be prepared to lose all the money you invest in crypto assets.
Lack of Protections
Crypto assets are largely unregulated and neither the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) nor the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will protect you in the event something goes wrong with your crypto asset investments.
Liquidity Risk
There is no guarantee that investments in crypto assets can be easily sold at any given time.
Complexity
Investments in crypto assets can be complex, making it difficult to understand the risks associated with the investment. You should do your own research before investing. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Concentration Risk
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Putting all your money into a single type of investment is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on anyone to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
Five questions to ask yourself
- Am I comfortable with the level of risk? Can I afford to lose my money?
- Do I understand the investment and could I get my money out easily?
- Are my investments regulated?
- Am I protected if the investment provider or my adviser goes out of business?
- Should I get financial advice?
Stablecoins
Stablecoins are designed to have a value that is claimed to be pegged to an underlying asset such as fiat currencies (eg USDT), but they are not immune to price fluctuations, and there is no certainty that their value will remain stable or pegged 1:1 to the linked reserve asset. Stablecoins use a variety of ways to maintain stability, each with their own risks. This is not an exhaustive list of all the risks to stablecoins:
Counterparty Risk
Certain tokens may rely on assets held by third parties which may or may not not be verifiable or visible to the token holder. Legal recourse to any pledged assets may be limited.
Depegging Risk
Certain tokens, known as "stablecoins" may attempt to link its value to a specific fiat currency or index. The pegs in so-called "stablecoins" have historically been challenged resulting in potential/realised losses for holders. So called "stablecoins" depend on complex algorithmic outputs, reserves that may not be demonstrably proven or accessible or redemption mechanisms that do not perform as expected.
Algorithmic Risk
Investments in cryptocurrencies are dependent on the continued development and maintenance of underlying blockchain technology. Certain so-called "stablecoins" may depend on algorithmic outputs.
FX Risk
Many stablecoins are denominated in US Dollars. If you are trading using a different currency cross (i.e. USDT/GBP), you will then be exposed to changes in the US Dollar exchange rate.
USD Coin’s price performance
USD Coin on socials
Guides
USD Coin FAQ
USDC is a stablecoin issued by Centre, a joint venture between fintech company Circle and cryptocurrency marketplace Coinbase. USD Coin is designed to be a stable crypto asset, always maintaining the same value relative to the dollar. There is no max supply of USDC, as new tokens are issued based on demand.
Easily buy USDC tokens on the OKX cryptocurrency platform. OKX’s spot trading terminal includes the USDC/USDT trading pair.
You can also swap your existing cryptocurrencies, including XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK), for USDC with zero fees and no price slippage by using OKX Convert.
Alternatively, you can purchase USDC tokens via the OKX P2P Trading platform. P2P trading allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly from other users without needing a middleman.
With OKX, you can easily use USDC to buy other crypto assets, including Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), using OKX Convert. This conversion process incurs zero fees and has no slippage.
Dive deeper into USD Coin
USD Coin (USDC) is an open-source smart contract-based stablecoin issued by an international fintech firm called Circle and the US-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase. Together they make up the Centre Consortium, responsible for generating and redeeming all USDC tokens.
Launched in October 2018, USDC is fiat-collateralized and is pegged to the US Dollar at a 1:1 ratio. This is possible because a mix of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term US Treasury bonds backs USDC. Approximately 10 percent of USDC reserves are held in cash and cash equivalents, with the remainder in short-term US Treasury bonds.
Centre believes that true financial interoperability between crypto and fiat currencies is possible only if there's a price-stable means of value exchange between the two. USDC was created to address the need for a fiat-backed stablecoin that is transparent and secure, which was lacking in the market at the time.
Its creators, Circle and Coinbase, wanted to offer a stablecoin backed by real-world assets, audited regularly, and provide high transparency and governance. USDC was designed to be more transparent financially and operationally than other stablecoins in the market, which would help build trust and encourage greater adoption.
Grant Thornton is an independent accounting firm that conducts monthly attestations on the USDC stablecoin. The firm provides independent verification of the reserves backing USDC and ensures that they are held in a manner consistent with the Centre Consortium reserve policy.
Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, has emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in the operation of USDC, and the involvement of Grant Thornton is a key component of that effort. USDC's commitment to transparency, backed by the independent verification provided by Grant Thornton, provides greater confidence and trust for users looking to buy a stablecoin.
How does USDC work
USDC is built on the Ethereum blockchain, a decentralized platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). USDC is an ERC-20 token compatible with any Ethereum wallet or exchange supporting ERC-20 tokens. The technology behind USDC is designed to provide stability and reliability for users, making it a popular choice for cryptocurrency traders.
Each USDC token is backed by one US Dollar, meaning its value is directly tied to the value of the US Dollar. This provides a high level of stability, which can be particularly useful during market volatility.
The Centre Consortium oversees the creation and management of USDC tokens. It ensures that each USDC token is backed by a corresponding US Dollar and that the supply of USDC tokens is always equal to the amount of US Dollars held in reserve.
USDC is also currently issued on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum (ERC-20 format), Tron (TRC-20 format), Algorand (ASA format), Avalanche (ERC-20 format), Flow (FT format), Stellar (as a Stellar asset), Solana (SPL format), and Hedera (SDK format).
What is USDC used for?
Being one of the most popular USD-pegged stablecoins, USDC is finding widespread application as a value storage medium during volatile market conditions or simply for people who want fiat exposure outside the traditional banking rails. Hence, many traders move their crypto allocations to USDC to avoid the impact of abrupt price changes. This could explain why the demand for USDC increases considerably during bearish periods.
USDC is also commonly used by many exchange platforms for on-ramping new entrants in the crypto industry and is widely accepted as payment for goods and services in online and offline markets.
As the USDC coin resides on multiple prominent blockchains, including Ethereum as an ERC-20 token, it can be seamlessly used in any dApps running on these networks, including in popular games where users can easily purchase in-game assets with their USDC tokens.
Another use case for USDC tokens is remittance transfers. USDC tokens have increasingly been used for remittance transfers because they offer several benefits over traditional ones, including a greater sense of security, access, lower fees, and higher speeds. In addition, some companies, such as fintech company Circle, offer specific services designed for remittance payments using USDC.
Idle USDC tokens can generate passive income on various crypto exchanges, including OKX. Users can visit OKX Earn and select from the available USDC staking plans to earn interest.
USDC price and tokenomics
Like most of its peers, USDC is issued on demand and doesn't have a cap on its maximum supply. The number of USDC tokens in circulation changes based on how many are issued and burnt by commercial issuers.
New USDC coins can be issued directly by Centre to buyers at a 1:1 ratio to the dollar whenever necessary. For example, if a buyer wants to buy $15 million worth of USDC, Centre can immediately mint 15 million new USDC for the buyer. Likewise, if a user with 15 million USDC wants to redeem them for US Dollars, Centre pays them $15 million and destroys their 15 million USDC tokens, thereby removing them from circulation.
About the founders
USDC was founded in 2018 by Centre, an independent member-based consortium that comprises P2P services company Circle and the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
It was created to provide a layer of trust and transparency to the stablecoin industry. USDC allows users to operate with confidence and security in the crypto market, knowing that each unit of their USDC holdings can be redeemed for 1 USD whenever they wish.
Unlike most other crypto and stablecoin projects, Circle and Coinbase are fully regulated by leading US authorities. This has helped USDC's cause and helped pave the way for the stablecoin's international expansion.
Disclaimer
OKX does not provide investment or asset recommendations. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. For further details, please refer to our Terms of Use and Risk Warning. By using the third-party website ("TPW"), you accept that any use of the TPW will be subject to and governed by the terms of the TPW. Unless expressly stated in writing, OKX and its affiliates (“OKX”) are not in any way associated with the owner or operator of the TPW. You agree that OKX is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage and any other consequences arising from your use of the TPW. Please be aware that using a TPW may result in a loss or diminution of your assets. Product may not be available in all jurisdictions.