Circle has announced its decision to natively mint its USDC stablecoin on the Ethereum layer-2 platform, Polygon. This recent development could turn out to be a breakthrough for both developers and users, as this move would eliminate the need to bridge the stablecoin from Ethereum to another blockchain.
As a result of this new offering, it has become clear that Circle’s Mint and Developer APIs would now support the Polygon-based USDC. It would become easier for businesses and developers to develop decentralized applications using the stablecoin on Polygon.
Furthermore, the integration of USDC on the Polygon protocol also reassures the users that they would be offered quick transactions coupled with minimal transaction fees. It is a fact that capabilities like these are ideal for a broad range of applications, ranging from payments to remittances to trading, borrowing, as well as lending.
Prior to this announcement, users had to rely heavily on bridged USDC tokens (USDC.e) from the Ethereum blockchain, even though this specific token was not issued by Circle.
1/ It’s official. #ItsStillStableSeptember and $USDC is now available natively on @0xPolygon PoS mainnet!
Learn the benefits of native USDC and how to switch from bridged USDC.e 👇https://t.co/KcK55sT4KH pic.twitter.com/Gm6HjR62KW
— Circle (@circle) October 10, 2023
In comparison to the older practice, the newly introduced offering guarantees redemption at a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar. At the same time, Circle used to facilitate deposits and withdrawals for the USDC.e token on Polygon via Circle Mint and its APIs. However, The firm mentioned that this service would be shut down in early November and has also warned users that sending USDC.e to Circle Mint accounts after the specific date may render their assets irretrievable.
Circle Looks Forward to Revolutionize the DeFi Landscape
Following the integration, the firm plans to revolutionize the DeFi landscape. Analysts believe that the firm is aspiring to set the stage for affordable global payments and remittances by providing native Polygon USDC. It would also become possible for users to quickly and easily access other DeFi protocols including Aave, Compound, Curve, UniSwap, and QuickSwap.
Reportedly, Circle also has plans to introduce a cross-chain transfer protocol on Polygon. If that is implemented, the project would streamline interoperability with several other blockchain networks, while enabling Polygon-based USDC transfers to and from the Ethereum blockchain.
In similar news, the platform recently announced the native stablecoin liquidity access on the NEAR protocol ecosystem. The platform announced that its APIs would now offer USDC NEAR access, and this marked a significant milestone in expanding the stablecoin’s usability and accessibility across various blockchain networks.
