#USDC $USDC **USDC (USD Coin)** is a leading digital stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US Dollar. It is primarily managed by **Circle**, a financial technology firm, and was originally co-founded with Coinbase through the Centre Consortium.
As of early 2026, USDC remains the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, widely regarded for its transparency and regulatory compliance.
### 📊 Market Snapshot (February 13, 2026)
| Metric | Value |
| --- | --- |
| **Price** | $1.00 (Pegged) |
| **Market Cap** | ~$73 Billion |
| **24h Volume** | ~$14.5 Billion |
| **Supported Chains** | 15+ (Ethereum, Solana, Base, Arbitrum, etc.) |
---
### 🛡️ Why Use USDC?
* **Stability:** Designed to minimize volatility. For every 1 USDC in circulation, $1 USD (or equivalent asset) is held in reserve by regulated US financial institutions.
* **Transparency:** Unlike some competitors, Circle provides monthly, third-party audited attestations of its reserves to prove the tokens are fully backed.
* **Accessibility:** It acts as a "digital bridge" between traditional banks and the crypto world, allowing you to move money into DeFi (Decentralized Finance) or across borders in seconds.
* **Ecosystem Utility:** Used for everything from earning interest (yield) in lending protocols to being a payment rail for AI agents (as seen with recent Stripe integrations on the Base network).
### ⚠️ Risks to Consider
While stable, USDC is not "risk-free."
1. **Centralization:** Circle has the power to "freeze" USDC addresses if required by law enforcement.
2. **Counterparty Risk:** If the banks holding the dollar reserves fail (similar to the Silicon Valley Bank event in 2023), the token can temporarily "de-peg" or lose its $1 value.
3. **Regulatory Shifts:** The recent **GENIUS Act** in the US has introduced stricter reporting for stablecoin issuers, which improves safety but also increases compliance overhead.
---
### 🚀 Recent Developments
* **Stripe & AI:** In February 2026, Stripe launched a payment system for AI agents using USDC on the **Base** network, allowing software to pay for services autonomously.
* **Native Expansion:** USDC has shifted toward "Native" deployments on networks like **Starknet** and **Monad**, reducing the need for risky "bridged" versions of the token.
**Would you like me to find the best platforms for earning yield on USDC, or are you looking for instructions on how to bridge it to a specific blockchain?**