Whether you’re new to cryptocurrency, or have been dealing with it for a while, you may not be familiar with the idea of ‘stablecoins’. A ‘stablecoin’ is the term for an asset that is tied to another currency, commodity, or financial instrument.
USD Coin (USDC) is a type of cryptocurrency that is referred to as a ‘stablecoin’. It is tied to the U.S. dollar, and you can redeem one USD Coin for US$1.00, giving it a stable price. On Coinbase, eligible customers can earn rewards for every USD Coin they hold.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is not regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is not subject to protection under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme or within the scope of jurisdiction of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service.
Investing in cryptocurrency comes with risk and cryptocurrency may gain in value, or lose some or all value. Please seek advice from an independent and suitable licensed financial advisor before purchasing. Capital gains tax may be applicable to profits from cryptocurrency sales.
Why is USDC important to Coinbase?As part of Coinbase’s mission to ‘increase economic freedom’, it wants to build more on-ramps for users to access USDC and help it become a widely trusted and reputable digital dollar.
Currently, three times more USDC is bought with U.S. dollars versus non-U.S. dollar currencies. In part, this is because users typically have to pay commission fees in the process of converting their local currency into USDC, and this is a barrier to broader international adoption.
Coinbase believes the way to accelerate the adoption of USDC is by waiving commission fees for all users.
Why choose USDC?Stability: USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, backed by high-quality reserves and with transparent and regular attestations, meaning it is always redeemable on a 1:1 basis for U.S. dollars.
While the value of many cryptocurrencies can fluctuate dramatically, a stablecoin like USDC aims to give users the stability and confidence they need in times of high volatility. You can currently earn 1% APY* on your holdings.
Trusted transparency: USDC is backed by dollar-denominated assets of at least equal fair value to the USDC in circulation, held in segregated accounts with U.S. regulated financial institutions, and has transparent, regular attestations of assets. Plus, there’s currently no commission fees involved to get started**.
Accessibility: USDC aims to be a secure, cheap, and fast solution for anyone to send value around the world. By running on blockchain technology, USDC transfers are able to be completed in under an hour compared to multiple days for legacy banking systems. Plus, users can avoid the intermediary costs associated with traditional banking networks.
Background on CoinbaseCoinbase aims to build the crypto economy to be a more fair, accessible, efficient, and transparent financial system enabled by crypto.
The company started in 2012 with the idea that anyone, anywhere, should be able to easily and securely send and receive crypto like Bitcoin.
Today, it offers an easy-to-use platform for accessing the broader crypto economy.
Visit coinbase.com for more information on USDC. You can also log into Coinbase.com, Coinbase Prime, or Coinbase Exchange – or if you are an institutional client, you can also review their USDC overview documentation for Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Exchange.
This article was paid for by Coinbase – registered company number 3728966 based in the USA.
*Upon purchase of USDC, you will be automatically opted into rewards. If you’d like to opt out or learn more about rewards, click here. The rewards rate is subject to change and can vary by region. Customers will be able to see the latest applicable rates directly within their accounts.
**This feature may not be available to all regions. No commission fees attributed to Coinbase will be charged until further notice. However, spread, and processing fees charged by third party processors, will continue to apply.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is not regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is not subject to protection under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme or within the scope of jurisdiction of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service.
Investing in cryptocurrency comes with risk and cryptocurrency may gain in value, or lose some or all value. Please seek advice from an independent and suitable licensed financial advisor before purchasing. Capital gains tax may be applicable to profits from cryptocurrency sales.
