Circle is gearing up to launch its USD Coin (USDC) natively on the Base network, eliminating the need for the bridged version known as USDbC. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, made the exciting announcement on August 29, with the official launch scheduled for the upcoming week.
The Base network, initiated by Coinbase, went live on August 9 without a native version of USDC. This meant that users couldn’t directly deposit cash into a Circle account and receive the equivalent USDC on Base. To resolve this limitation, the Base team introduced a bridge solution, allowing users to convert USDC from Ethereum into “USDbC” on the Base network. These USDbC tokens were backed by native USDC assets locked on the Ethereum blockchain.
The latest announcement indicates that Circle will soon issue USDC directly on the Base network, eliminating the need for the bridging process via Ethereum. According to a related blog post, the contract for this new token has already been deployed on Base. On the launch day, the team will provide instructions on how users can redeem their current USDbC holdings for native USDC. Additionally, Circle plans to collaborate with ecosystem apps to ensure a seamless transition for liquidity providers to support the new coin. The existing Base bridge, which issues USDbC, will continue to operate normally during this transition phase.
While a specific launch date hasn’t been disclosed, Jeremy Allaire mentioned that it’s slated to occur sometime in the upcoming week.
It’s worth noting that the Base network gained significant traction shortly after its launch, with over 136,000 active users on August 10. Moreover, Base recently unveiled plans to share its revenue and participate in the governance of the upcoming “Superchain,” which comprises Base, Optimism, and other interconnected networks.