What happens to USD Coin (USDC) in 2024: from rebranding to public IPO and EU market entry
USD Coin token — the second largest stablecoin in the crypto market — accounts for almost 20% of stablecoin capitalization. Let's break down what interesting things happened to the USD Coin stablecoin in 2023-2024.
Rebranding and IPO
In September 2023, Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin stablecoin, rebranded its USDC (pegged to the US dollar) and EURC (pegged to the euro exchange rate) tokens and changed their logos. After the rebranding, Circle removed the names USD Coin and EUR Coin from circulation, leaving only USDC and EURC, respectively.
As early as January 2024, Circle filed for its initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To be authorized for an IPO, the company needs to get approval of its Form S-1 filing — the same form investment firms use to apply for approval to launch spot Bitcoin-ETF and Ethereum-ETF.
According to the company, one of Circle's main goals is to become a public company listed on US exchanges. This will allow the issuer to provide services with its digital assets in full compliance with regulatory rules, reducing risks for investors.
As of August 2024, it is not known what stage the SEC's application is at. However, according to media reports, in May of the same year, Circle applied to move its company from Ireland to a US jurisdiction — possibly one of the steps in preparation for a future IPO.
MiCA Bill
The European Parliament passed the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCa) bill on October 10, 2023, and it came into force on June 30, 2024. The MiCA bill regulates the rules for using stablecoins and other digital assets within the European Union.
This means that exchanges and other cryptocurrency companies are prohibited from providing services such as trading or staking with unregistered EU-registered stablecoins such as USDT. Companies are also prohibited from using EU-regulated shake coins outside the EU.
According to Circle representatives, in early July 2024, the company received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license, allowing it to conduct transactions with USDC stablecoin per MiCA rules. Circle is the first company to receive such a license, which gives it the right to provide services with stablecoins in 27 EU countries through its subsidiary Circle Mint France.
USDC withdrawal from Tron
The Tron ecosystem is second only to Ethereum in decentralized finance (DeFi) market regarding blockchain value (TVL), which is ~$7.8 billion. The USDC stablecoin has been one of the most used assets on the Tron network for a long time. Still, after allegations of fraud, money laundering, and selling unregistered securities against the developer, some exchanges removed support for USDC deposits and withdrawals from this network.
As early as February 2024, Circle announced it would no longer support the Tron network for its USDC stablecoin. According to the company's statement, until February 2025, customers can transfer their USDC to other blockchains or exchange tokens for fiat currency directly through Circle. Still, withdrawing the stablecoin through the cryptocurrency wallet will no longer be possible.
At the same time, Circle for 2023-2024 has expanded the list of supported blockchains in which USDC's stablecoin is issued. As of August 2024, USDC has over 90 supported blockchains, and this list includes:
USDC capitalization
From July 2022 to November 2023, the capitalization of the USDC stablecoin mostly fell: during this period, the figure dropped from $55.8 billion to $23.9 billion. This is because investors were accumulating bitcoin and prominent altcoins and transferring their assets into fiat and other financial instruments due to concerns about stablecoins associated with the collapse of the infamous TerraUSD (UST), now known as USTC.
After the UST incident, many other stablecoins also became more volatile, often losing their peg to the US dollar exchange rate. For example, USDC lost its peg in March 2023, when the stablecoin rate fell below $0.97. Nevertheless, USDC did not experience significant deviations after this event except for rate pegs on individual exchanges. Still, these were due to insufficient liquidity and large volumes of stablecoin sales.
Since November 2023, USDC capitalization has grown almost 1.5 times to $34.5 billion — the highest since April 2023. Entering the EU market and registering in the US will likely help Circle attract even more investor funds in the near future and accelerate the growth rate of USDC stablecoin capitalization.
