Coinbase to buy a stake in Circle and launch USDC on six new blockchains

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will buy a stake in Circle and launch USDC on six new blockchains

Circle will gain full control over the issuance and management of the USDC stablecoin, which will launch on six new blockchains

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will buy a stake in Circle, the issuer of the second largest USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, according to a joint statement from the two companies.

Circle will gain full control over the issuance and management of the USDC stablecoin, which will launch on six new blockchains sometime between September and October 2023, the companies said in a statement. The exact terms of the cryptocurrency exchange's investment were not disclosed. As of Aug. 22, USDC has a market capitalization of more than $25.9 billion, according to Coinmarketcap.

"The nature of the investment suggests that Coinbase and Circle will now have even greater strategic and economic alignment on the future of the financial system," Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement.

In August, Coinbase said it would suspend trading of USDT and other stablecoins in Canada. Customers of the cryptocurrency exchange will continue to be able to deposit and withdraw these assets despite the ban on trading USDT, DAI, and RAI stablecoins.

Coinbase has also received regulatory approval to trade cryptocurrency futures in the US. The authorization for US customers to access regulated crypto derivatives will allow more people to gain safe access to the country's cryptocurrency market, the company said.