Explainers & Analysis: USDC

Monochrome diagram on how a stablecoin issuer can restrict an account, freeze custodial balances or blocklist an address

Stablecoins · Nov 1

Can Stablecoin Issuers Freeze Funds? USDC and USDT Rules

Issuer controls can block stablecoin transfers, custodial balances or redemption. Here is how USDC and USDT differ.

Flow diagram: a customer's USDC deposit passes through a liquidation address and arrives as USD in the customer account, followed by a treasury transfer

Stablecoins · Oct 31

Stablecoin-to-USD Settlement: From Deposit to Treasury

How a USDC liquidation address, customer account and treasury transfer form a stablecoin-to-USD settlement flow.

Monochrome operating map for a business stablecoin payment: customer, checkout, processor and ledger, with asset, network, amount and status checks.

stablecoin payments · Oct 29

How Businesses Accept Stablecoin Payments

Choose a stablecoin payment route, define confirmation and refund states, and reconcile every order.

Diagram showing a stablecoin sent from Network A to an incompatible Network B address

stablecoins · Oct 27

Stablecoin Sent to the Wrong Network: What Can Be Recovered?

Wrong-network stablecoin transfers may be recoverable only when you or a supporting custodian controls the destination.

USDC on Solana diagram: the Solana network, Circle's native USDC mint and the recipient's associated token account, with SOL paying the network fee

USDC · Oct 24

USDC on Solana: Mint, Token Accounts and SOL Fees

How native USDC works on Solana: verify the mint, understand token accounts, keep SOL for fees and avoid network errors.

Bar diagram of the minimum share of an EU e-money token reserve held as bank deposits, 30% for all issuers and 60% for significant tokens as described by Circle, with two figures below: $3.3 billion of USDC reserve cash at Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023, about 8% of the reserve, and the EBA's 1.5% cap on reserve exposure to one bank.

Banking · Oct 20

Stablecoin Reserves in Bank Deposits: Why Issuers Hold Cash at Banks

Redemptions are paid in bank money, so issuers keep part of the reserve at banks. MiCA sets a minimum; March 2023 showed the risk.

Diagram of a stablecoin FX trade: the taker's USDC and the maker's EURC both go into an escrow smart contract on Arc, which releases both legs together, with settlement windows of 30 minutes, one hour or one day depending on the tenor.

Markets · Oct 20

Stablecoin FX: How a USDC-to-EURC Trade Settles Onchain

Onchain FX keeps the market price but changes settlement: an escrow contract releases both stablecoins together, or neither.

Monochrome USDC on Base transfer diagram showing the token, network route and ETH gas requirement.

USDC · Oct 18

USDC on Base: How to Send It and Pay Gas in ETH

How to send USDC on Base, verify the contract and network, keep ETH for gas, and avoid unsupported deposits.

Native USDC and bridged USDC.e shown as separate Polygon PoS routes with their contract checks

USDC · Oct 16

USDC on Polygon: Native USDC vs USDC.e

Check native USDC, USDC.e, Polygon PoS gas in POL and destination support before sending.

USDC to USDT conversion checklist: same network, previewed costs and verified contract address

USDC · Oct 14

USDC to USDT: How to Convert Without Mixing Networks

A practical USDC-to-USDT checklist for exchange conversions, wallet swaps, fees and network matching.

Ethereum stablecoin transfer receipt showing gas used, gas price and ETH as the fee asset

Ethereum · Oct 13

Ethereum Gas Fees for USDT and USDC Transfers

Ethereum gas fees for USDT and USDC are paid in ETH. See the fee formula, gas limits and failed transfers.

A USDT address with a visible balance, blocked by an issuer blocklist entry in the token contract.

Stablecoins · Oct 12

Can USDT Be Frozen? What Tether and Circle's Terms Allow

Yes, and so can USDC. The power sits in the issuers' terms and in the token contracts themselves.

A price line holding at $1, dipping in a depeg and recovering, beside reserves and redemption boxes.

Markets · Oct 12

Can Stablecoins Lose Value? How a Peg Holds and Breaks

The $1 is a redemption promise, not a set price. USDC in 2023 and UST in 2022 show how it bends and breaks.

ERC20 transfer checks: network, token contract and recipient destination.

ERC-20 · Oct 8

ERC20: USDT and USDC on Ethereum Explained

ERC20 defines token functions. For USDT or USDC, verify the network, issuer contract and recipient before sending.

USDT and USDC compared through reserves and access

Stablecoins · Aug 19

USDT vs USDC: Reserves, Redemption and Access

USDT vs USDC compared side by side: issuers, regulation, reserves, who can redeem, networks, and whether USDC is safe.

Native token issuance contrasted with a bridge-backed claim

Blockchain · Aug 6

Native vs Bridged Stablecoins: What Changes?

Native vs bridged stablecoins, traced through lock-and-mint and burn-and-mint diagrams and deposit checks.

A stablecoin token exchanged for a dollar bank balance

Stablecoins · Jul 27

What Happens When You Redeem a Stablecoin?

Selling a token and redeeming it with its issuer are different transactions. Here is where the dollars come from.