Circle has announced a new coin, Circle USD (USD Coin) that will be backed by US fiat dollars. This announcement is good news to traders on exchanges that will use the coin. They are also announcing a financial partnership with Bitmain, one of the largest Bitcoin mining companies and makers of ASIC chips headquartered in Beijing, China. According to Circle:
Circle USDC (USD Coin) is a solution that enables customers to purchase and use USDC fiat tokens for payments and trading in the crypto ecosystem. USDC provides a full reserve US dollar-backed stablecoin, and is based on the open source fiat stablecoin framework developed and governed by CENTRE, which will provide independent oversight of Circle’s offering.
Bitmain is becoming a key supporter of CENTRE and USDC, and in conjunction with this new partnership, Bitmain is leading a $110M strategic investment in Circle. Also participating in this financing round are existing investors IDG Capital, Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, Accel, Digital Currency Group, and Pantera, along with new investors Blockchain Capital and Tusk Ventures.
Bitmain will also join CENTRE’s efforts to introduce multiple fiat-backed stablecoins and provide financial interoperability around the world. This partnership will help drive global interoperability that benefits consumers, business ventures, institutions, and marketplaces everywhere. Specifically, Bitmain will help CENTRE introduce multiple fiat stablecoins in a variety of geo-currency zones.
These strategic partners believe in Circle’s goal of creating an open, global model for finance for consumers and businesses everywhere. We’re humbled and excited to work with them.
Circle has grown to encompass multiple products: Circle Invest, Circle Trade, Circle Pay, and Poloniex. The refreshed look of our website circle.com, which is now updated and newly released, reflects this breadth. The pending introduction of USDC and other future stablecoins will impact and improve all of these products.