Coinbase Global, the company behind the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., announced Monday that it is acquiring an equity stake in Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.
See related article: USDC issuer Circle trims workforce
Fast facts
- “The nature of the investment means that Coinbase and Circle will now have even greater strategic and economic alignment on the future of the financial system,” Coinbase wrote in a blog post.
- The announcement did not mention the size of the equity stake Coinbase has purchased in Circle.
- In 2018, Circle and Coinbase founded Centre Consortium, the jointly managed self-governance platform for USDC. Coinbase announced Monday that the consortium will dissolve as the two no longer need it. All of Circle’s governance and operations will remain in-house.
- USDC will also launch on six new, unidentified blockchains between September and October. That will bring the number of USDC-supported blockchains up to 15.
- Coinbase’s announcement noted that both it and Circle will generate revenue from interest accumulated on USDC reserves. This revenue will be shared based on the amount of USDC held on the two platforms. They will also equally share income on interest generated by the distribution and use of USDC.
- USDC is the second largest stablecoin in the world after Tether USDT. The dollar-pegged token had a total market capitalization of US$25.9 billion as of Tuesday morning in Asia.
See related article: USDC stablecoin issuer Circle obtains Singapore license for digital payments, others