USDC: From the competitor USDT to the stablecoin standard

degenonymous · 2025-11-22T08:30:16+00:00

In recent years, USDC has emerged as a strong contender in the stablecoin market, surpassing USDT in credibility due to transparency in reserves, regulatory compliance, and widespread liquidity. Circle's approach marks a shift towards trust and safety in cryptocurrency.

degenonymous

2025-11-22 08:30:16

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What has changed in the world of stablecoins in recent years?

When Circle launched USDC in 2018, few thought it would pose serious competition to USDT from Tether. But the facts speak for themselves.

Figures as of November 9, 2023:

USDC in circulation: $24.1 billion
Reserves: $24.2 billion (overlapping)
Trading volume in the last 24 hours: ~$11 billion on OKX

Why do people trust USDC?

We have three reasons:

1. Transparency of Reserves Unlike many competitors, Circle publicly audits its reserves. Where is the money stored? In US Treasury bonds and repo agreements, at the custody Bank of New York Mellon ( managed by BlackRock). Each USDC dollar corresponds to one dollar in reserves.

2. Regulatory Compliance Circle is actively working with the SEC and has obtained a BitLicense. This gives it advantages in the long game, as other stablecoin projects face legal challenges.

3. Liquidity Everywhere USTC is seen on Ethereum, Solana, Polygon… This makes it a tool for:

On-ramping/off-ramping ( entry into crypto and exit )
Active trading ( high liquidity )
Earning through yield products

A Brief History of Circle ( for Context)

Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville. They started as a P2P payment company, then received investments from Goldman Sachs, but ultimately realized that stablecoins were their focus. In 2018, they merged with Coinbase to form Center.

Why USDC Feels More Confident Than Its Competitors

How to choose a stablecoin? Three criteria:

Transparency of reserves ✓
High trading volume ✓
Availability on major exchanges ✓

USTC checks all these boxes. But the main advantage is that in the era of skepticism after the FTX crash, people want to see what underlies their activities. Circle shows this.

Conclusion

USTC is not just a competitor to USDT. It is a representative of a new approach to stablecoins: complete transparency, regulatory compliance, wide integration. Does this mean the collapse of USDT? No. But USDC is capturing an increasing share of the market, and this is not a coincidence.

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