USD Coin (USDC)
Summary
USD Coin (USDC) is a fiat-backed stablecoin issued by Circle Internet Group, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and backed by cash and short-dated US Treasury instruments held in a regulated money market fund. First launched in September 2018 via the Centre Consortium (a joint venture with Coinbase), USDC is among the largest and most regulated stablecoins globally, with approximately $75.8 billion in circulation as of May 2026. The stablecoin has maintained a generally stable peg but experienced a significant temporary depeg to $0.87 in March 2023 following Circle's disclosure of $3.3 billion in deposits held at the failed Silicon Valley Bank.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 3 more
Timeline(13 events)
2013-10-01
Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville co-found Circle Internet Group in Boston, Massachusetts.
Circle Internet Group — Wikipedia2018-05-15
Circle announces plans for USDC after raising $110 million in venture capital to develop a USD-backed stablecoin on Ethereum.
Circle Internet Group — Wikipedia2018-09-26
USDC officially launches on Ethereum via the Centre Consortium, a joint venture between Circle and Coinbase.
Coinbase and Circle announce the launch of USDC — Coinbase Blog2019-10-01
Circle divests Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange, later resulting in an SEC enforcement action for Poloniex's operation of an unregistered securities exchange during Circle's ownership period.
Poloniex Agrees to $10M Settlement With SEC — CoinDesk2021-08-09
Circle agrees to pay $10.4 million to settle SEC charges that its former subsidiary Poloniex operated as an unregistered national securities exchange from 2017 to 2019.
SEC Charges Poloniex for Operating Unregistered Digital Asset Exchange — SEC.gov2022-08-08
US Treasury sanctions Tornado Cash under OFAC authority. Circle freezes approximately $75,000 in USDC held in Tornado Cash smart contract addresses within hours, drawing criticism that the freeze affected innocent users with pre-existing deposits.
Circle freezes USDC funds in Tornado Cash's US Treasury-sanctioned wallets — The Block2023-03-10
Circle discloses $3.3 billion in cash reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was shut down by California regulators the same day.
Stablecoin USDC breaks dollar peg after firm reveals it has $3.3 billion in SVB exposure — CNBC2023-03-11
USDC depegs to approximately $0.87 on secondary markets, the lowest level since its launch, as redemption demand surges and Circle suspends weekend operations.
Crypto Market Reaction to Silicon Valley Bank and USDC Depeg — Chainalysis2023-03-13
USDC recovers to $1.00 peg after FDIC announces all SVB depositors, including uninsured ones, will be made whole, securing Circle's $3.3 billion.
Crypto Market Reaction to Silicon Valley Bank and USDC Depeg — Chainalysis2023-08-21
Centre Consortium is dissolved. Circle assumes sole governance of USDC; Coinbase receives an undisclosed equity stake in Circle.
Coinbase takes equity stake in Circle as USDC-focused Centre Consortium shutters — Fortune2024-07-01
Circle becomes the first global stablecoin issuer to achieve MiCA compliance, receiving an Electronic Money Institution license from France's ACPR.
EU MiCA law: Crypto firm Circle gets French license for stablecoin — CNBC2025-06-05
Circle Internet Group goes public on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker CRCL at $31.00 per share; shares surge 168% on the first day, closing at $83.23.
Circle IPO: Circle (CRCL) Debuts on NYSE — CoinDesk2025-07-18
The GENIUS Act is signed into US law, establishing a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins with requirements aligning closely with USDC's existing practices.
GENIUS Act: U.S. Stablecoin Law — CircleDecision Log
- hash: 5puq3f4xgQ8aDacVT2YrdWZXh1YaNzLJvQS6s8eQ4Ae9
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/31/2026, 5:48:46 PM
last updated: 5/31/2026, 5:48:50 PM
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