Circle launches cross-chain USDC transfer protocol for Ethereum, Avalanche

Circle, the creator of US Dollar Coin (USDC), has launched a mainnet protocol that lets users transportation USDC betwixt Ethereum and Avalanche, according to an April 26 announcement. Previously, Avalanche users who held USDC connected Ethereum had to deposit their coins with a Circle spouse oregon usage a third-party span to transportation their USDC from 1 web to the other. The caller Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) protocol appears to bash distant with this request for USDC bridges.

The squad released a video connected April 13 showing however the caller protocol works. Unlike a accepted bridge, it doesn’t fastener tokens sent to its contract. Instead, it wholly destroys them and issues caller tokens connected the receiving network. Users tin redeem these caller tokens for slope deposits directly, by depositing the tokens with Circle oregon its partners.

In the announcement, the squad said that it expects CCTP to lick the occupation of “fragmentation” successful the Web3 ecosystem. Currently, determination are aggregate unofficial versions of USDC floating astir connected assorted networks, astir of which are the effect of tokens connected 1 web being bridged to another. Now that determination is an authoritative mode to transportation coins from 1 web to another, the squad expects these unofficial copies to dilatory diminution successful use, making the token little confusing to use.

The squad said that galore of the largest cross-chain protocols person already pledged to usage CCTP going forward, including Celer, Hyperlane, LayerZero, LI.FI, MetaMask, Wormhole and others.

Related: VISA volition facilitate USDC payments, acknowledgment to caller partnership

Joao Reginatto, Circle’s vice president of product, said helium believes the caller protocol volition assistance amended liquidity and superior ratio successful decentralized finance:

“With CCTP, developers tin simplify the idiosyncratic acquisition and their users tin spot that they are ever transacting with a highly liquid, harmless and fungible plus successful autochthonal USDC."

USDC is simply a fiat-backed stablecoin issued by Circle. The institution claims that each USDC token is backed dollar-for-dollar successful its reserves. Users tin mint USDC by opening an relationship and depositing currency with either Circle itself oregon 1 of its partners, specified arsenic Coinbase. Once they’ve done this, they tin person the coin connected respective networks, including Ethereum, Avalanche, Stellar and Polkadot.

Users person mislaid billions of dollars worthy of USDC and different cryptocurrencies owed to span hacks implicit the past fewer years, arsenic attackers person repeatedly figured retired however to region locked coins from span contracts and permission their copies connected the receiving web with nary backing. This has near developers wondering however to unafraid bridges for aboriginal usage arsenic integer assets go much mainstream.