On Tuesday, September 19, Circle confirmed the unveiling of the USDC stablecoin that will strictly run on the Polkadot Blockchain. The firm behind the second largest stablecoin in market capitalization indicated that the Polkadot USDC users would not deposit XCM-remitted from non-Polkadot Asset Hub parachains.
The move by Circle to launch Polkadot-specific USDC stablecoins mirrors its recent effort to expand its presence in various blockchain networks. The USDC issuer revealed in an official publication on its Website the availability of Polkadot USDC.
Circle indicated that developers and users could access the stablecoin and transfer to Polkadot-based parachins. The statement added that users could leverage the XCM protocol from their Circle Account and APIs.
Strict Transfer Mechanism of Polkadot USDC
The Tuesday announcement indicated the newly launched Polkadot USDC is natively on the Polkadot Asset Hub. The publication stated that users would only transfer the USDC stablecoin from the Circle Account to an external wallet address before using the XCM.
The announcement described the Polkadot Asset Hub as a conventional parachain uniquely designed to facilitate the issuance, management, and transfer of cryptos across the ecosystem. It added that any transfer to other parachins involving XCM would necessitate first to the Polkadot Asset Hub before depositing the Circle Account.
The statement warned users and developers from attempting to deposit the XCM-transferred USDC from an alternative parachain other than the Polkadot Asset Hub. The restriction stands even when the destination is the Circle Account. Given the complex recovery process, failure to observe the guideline would result in possible funds loss.
The unveiling of Polkadot support to the USDC expands the presence of the dollar-pegged stablecoin. The Polkadot addition expands the USDC support base to 14 blockchain networks, including Tron, Solana, Ethereum, and Stellar.
The integration with the Polkadot mirrors the previous unveil on other blockchains. The initiative aligns with the Circle’s objective to become a leading interoperable cryptocurrency and support system for low-cost payments. The integration of Polkadot accommodates trading, lending, and borrowing on other parachains within the ecosystem, including Moonbeam, HydraDX, and Centrifuge.
USDC Edges USDT in Networks Support
The Polkadot ecosystem involves a network comprising various independent blockchains identified as parachains. Since its unveiling in 2020, the network has prioritized the compatibility of the constituent blockchains operating in a parallel mechanism to expedite transactions. Also, the parachains benefit from Polkadot’s superior decentralization and security.
The integration of Polkadot leaves USDC commanding a better presence in networks compared to the numbers supported by the USDT stablecoin. The latter has 11 networks, with the latest communication confirming it terminated minting in Bitcoin Omni Layer, Kusama, and Bitcoin Cash. Tether explained the halt was necessary given the declined interest in the three blockchains, hence unable to attract popular projects.
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