USD Coin (USDC)
Regulated Circle stablecoin — monthly reserve audit, compatible with TradFi.
USDC is a stablecoin created by Circle (financial company with US regulatory licenses) in partnership with Coinbase exchange.
Characteristics:
•Full reserve — 100% coverage by US dollars and short-term US Treasury securities
•Monthly audit by Deloitte
•Regulated in USA, EU (MiCA), Singapore
•Available on 15+ blockchains
SVB collapse (March 2023):
•Circle had $3.3 billion in Silicon Valley Bank
•USDC de-pegged to $0.87 briefly
•US Treasury guaranteed deposits → USDC returned to $1
•Showed "regulated" doesn't mean "risk-free"
Usage:
•Most popular stablecoin for institutions and DeFi protocols
•Cross-border payments (Circle API)
•Binance USDC available directly
USDC vs USDT:
•USDC: transparent audit, regulated, smaller volume
•USDT: less transparent, but far larger volume and liquidity