Circle Expands Stablecoin Access by Launching Native USDC on Celo Blockchain

San Francisco-based financial services company Circle announced the launch of USDC on the Celo blockchain earlier this week. This allows users to access regulated US dollar stablecoins without the need to link assets across chains.

USDC is now natively integrated into Celo, joining existing stablecoin use cases on the blockchain including remittances, savings, lending, and payments. This move provides another way for developers and users to leverage USDC’s liquidity and settlement speed.

Celo is a mobile-first proof-of-stake blockchain focused on increasing access to cryptocurrency payments and financial services globally. Stablecoins are used for gas fees and settlement, enabling transactions similar to familiar fiat currencies.

According to Circle, adding USDC directly to Celo aligns with both companies’ goals of increasing financial inclusion and prosperity globally. Circle facilitates more than $100 billion in transactions annually, and Celo has an ecosystem of more than 1,000 projects in more than 150 countries.

Celo’s USDC use cases highlighted by Circle include:

• Low-cost transfers and payments completed in seconds
• Trade, lend and borrow 24/7 on DEXs like Uniswap
• USDC-denominated savings account without a traditional bank account

Celo’s USDC has token address 0xcebA9300f2b948710d2653dD7B07f33A8B32118C. Celo community members have already proposed allowing gas fees to be paid in USDC, and a governance vote is expected soon.

Circle offers a fiat onramp that allows you to convert Celo to USDC through your Circle Mint account. The company said USDC is open source and any developer can integrate it into Celo DeFi apps and services.

The addition of USDC marks a significant stablecoin milestone for Celo, improving its real-world utility. For Circle, it continues its strategy of distributing USDC across multiple chains to increase access to and use of dollar-pegged digital currencies.

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