Circle Unveils New Protocol To Disrupt Stablecoin Market, USDC Set To Overtake USDT?

Crypto News: On April 26, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin officially announced the launch of a Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) that enables the transfer of USDC between Ethereum and Avalanche blockchains. Earlier, users of Avalanche who had USDC on Ethereum had to send their coins to a Circle partner or use a third-party bridge to move their USDC from one blockchain to another. With the debut of the new protocol, Circle claims to have eliminated the requirement of such stablecoin bridges.

Circle Unveils New CCTP Protocol

According to the company’s official statement, the new protocol, unlike a conventional bridge system, does not lock tokens sent to its smart contract. In contrast, it enables the transfer of USDC between different blockchain networks by minting the same amount on one chain while burning native USDC on another and thereby enabling asset transfers.

Additionally, the protocol can be integrated into a crypto wallet, bridge, or app, allowing users to transfer any quantity of USDC to an ecosystem that supports it. The official statement released by the firm was quoted as saying:

A user accesses your app to initiate a transfer of USDC from one blockchain to another, and specifies the recipient wallet address on the destination chain.

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According to Circle, the protocol has already been implemented into other crypto projects, including Celer Network, Layer Zero, Li.Fi, Multichain, Router Protocol, and others, allowing users to move USDC through their interfaces. Circle has previously stated that CCTP will eventually be accessible on additional blockchain networks in addition to Ethereum and Avalanche.

Can This Push USDC To #1 Spot?

Over the past few years, bridge hacks have caused users to lose billions of dollars worth of USDC and other cryptocurrencies, as attackers have consistently mastered the skill to extract locked funds from smart contracts and fill-in with duplicate copies on the receiving network without any kind of backing. This in turn has become a major headache for crypto startups and developers alike on figuring out ways to circumvent the issue.

With this new feature, USDC hopes to stand out in the larger crypto market and among U.S. legislators who recently held a congressional hearing on stablecoins. While market participants appreciate the new initiative, it might not be enough topple the current market leader, Tether (USDT). Boasting a market cap of nearly $81 billion, the stablecoin has been the most liquid and although it has repeatedly been mired in litigations, accusations and controversies, it has still managed to retain its number one spot over the years.

In light of this crypto news, the price of USDC remained pegged to its $1 value while witnessing a 35% surge in trading volume over the past 24 hours.

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