USDC | Crypto

Drift said a durable nonce attack helped drive its Solana exploit, as critics questioned why stolen USDC moved for hours without a freeze. Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), confirmed Thursday it was targeted in a roughly $280 million exploit, describing it as a “highly sophisticated operation.” The platform took to X on to share its findings from a preliminary investigation, saying that the attackers exploited Solana’s durable nonces, a mechanism enabling pre-signed transactions, to seize control and drain funds. The protocol had earlier said it was experiencing an active attack and suspended deposits and withdrawals while coordinating with security firms, bridges and exchanges. The attack began on Wednesday, with the theft involving multiple assets, including Circle’s USDC (USDC) and various altcoins. Onchain data later showed that the exploiter swapped the majority of assets into USDC, with the funds later bridged to Ethereum. Read more

USDC adoption hinges on volume, not circulation, the bank said

The move aims to integrate the second-biggest dollar-pegged stablecoin into regional payment networks to improve cross-border transactions and remittances. Circle is partnering with Sasai Fintech to expand the use of its USDC stablecoin across African payment corridors, targeting remittances, business transactions and mobile wallet services. According to Tuesday’s announcement, collaboration will integrate the second-biggest stablecoin into Sasai’s existing payments infrastructure, which supports cross-border transfers, enterprise payments and consumer wallets, with the aim of reducing costs and settlement times. Sasai operates across multiple African markets, providing digital payments services that will integrate with Circle’s onchain infrastructure. Read more

SBI VC Trade said users could lend assets directly to its platform, but added that the company may re-lend funds as part of its operations. SBI Holdings’ digital asset arm, SBI VC Trade, said it will launch a USDC lending service in Japan on Thursday, allowing retail users to lend stablecoins to the platform under fixed-term agreements in exchange for returns. On Wednesday, the company said users will be able to lend Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin to the platform and receive interest payments, with a maximum application of 5,000 USDC per offering. The product is structured as a loan to SBI VC Trade rather than a deposit, meaning users take direct counterparty risk. SBI said it may also re-lend the borrowed USDC as part of its operations. The launch marks a further step in Japan’s stablecoin rollout, bringing a consumer-accessible USDC yield product to market through a licensed domestic platform. Read more

Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) has officially unseated Tether’s USDT in transfer volume for the first time in seven years. The shift marks a defining moment for digital assets, cleanly splitting stablecoin leadership into two distinct categories: total supply and transactional velocity. While Tether remains the undisputed heavyweight in the stablecoin market, USDC has become the […] The post Tether still holds more cash, but Circle’s USDC is now moving more of crypto’s money appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A quiet shift is underway in the stablecoin hierarchy. While Tether’s USDT still dominates the digital dollar market, the gap between the two largest issuers is narrowing as USDC steadily expands its footprint and Tether’s growth shows signs of softening. Additionally, USDC is gaining ground in the places where the next wave of crypto money […] The post Tether’s stablecoin supremacy under threat as USDC closes the gap after market cap explosion appeared first on CryptoSlate.

USDC’s market cap is approaching a record $80 billion, with one analyst linking the surge to capital flight and turmoil in Dubai’s real estate market. The market capitalization of the USDC stablecoin is approaching a record high near $80 billion as demand surges in the Middle East, with one analyst linking the spike to capital flight from the United Arab Emirates. According to data from CoinMarketCap, USDC (USDC)’s circulating supply has risen to roughly $79.2 billion, marking a new all-time high for the dollar-pegged stablecoin. The stablecoin’s market cap previously hit a high of below $79 billion in December last year. The increase comes after supply expanded by billions of dollars in recent weeks. The stablecoin’s market cap stood at just over $70 billion in early February and at $75 billion earlier this month. Read more

Analysts at the investment company said the change was significant because the stablecoin “winner” will be the one people use for everyday transactions. Japanese investment bank Mizuho reported that stablecoin issuer Circle’s USDC overtook Tether’s USDt in transaction volume for the first time since 2019. In a research note released on Friday, Mizuho said it had raised its price target for Circle stock from $100 to $120 after comparing transaction volumes between the two major stablecoins. According to Mizuho, USDC (USDC) had about $2.2 trillion in adjusted transaction volume for the year to date, compared with USDt (USDT) at $1.3 trillion. “The data shows USDC vs. USDT volumes at 64% market share,” said Mizuho. This is a reversal in a long-term trend of USDT volumes surpassing USDC in 2019-2025.” Read more

William Blair said Circle’s recent rally reflects more than macro factors, pointing to USDC resilience and growing recognition of the firm’s stablecoin infrastructure advantage.

Stablecoin monthly transaction volume reached a record $1.8 trillion in February, as USDC surprised analysts with 70% of the total volume. Stablecoins have hit an all-time high in monthly transaction volume, as Circle’s USDC (USDC) flipped Tether’s USDt (USDT), new data shows. Key takeaways: Stablecoin monthly transaction volume reached a record $1.8 trillion in February. Read more

[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, February 26th, 2026] Stablecoins have become a foundational layer for settlement, moving value across payments, remittances, and treasury operations worldwide. As these flows grow, the infrastructure behind dollar-denominated stablecoins matters as much as the assets themselves. USDC and Circle Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) will be launching on Morph, bringing payment stablecoins and […]

Circle's fourth quarter earnings tell a story the company would prefer investors understand through the lens of growth: USDC circulation climbed 72% year-over-year to $75.3 billion, reserve income surged 69%, and adjusted EBITDA quintupled. However, the income statement reveals a different architecture in which the issuer generates yield and immediately bargains most of it away […] The post Circle’s $461M payout shows who captures USDC yield — and it’s not Circle appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The stablecoin issuer reported $770 million in revenue for the final 2025 quarter, beating forecasts as full-year sales rose 64% and USDC circulation topped $75 billion. Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, driven by rapid growth in its USDC stablecoin business and expanding payments operations, underscoring continued momentum in an otherwise challenging crypto market. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2025, Circle posted revenue of $770 million, a 77% increase from a year earlier, and reported net income of $133.4 million, or 43 cents per share. Analysts expected per-share earnings of 16 cents on revenue of $747 million.  The strong quarter was fueled in part by a 72% year-on-year increase in the circulation of Circle’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDC (USDC), which reached about $75.3 billion by year-end. Read more

The issuer of the USDC stablecoin posted EPS of 43 cents for the fourth quarter, beating the consensus estimate of 16 cents. The shares surged as much as 29%.

The crypto market has entered a fragile phase as Bitcoin dropped under the critical $70,000 level and bounced off $60,000, a zone that has increasingly acted as a gravitational pull rather than a launchpad. This subdued price action came as the stablecoin market has surged, with Tether and Circle minting billions of dollars’ worth of […] The post Did minting $3 billion USDT, USDC just help stop Bitcoin losing $60k? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Polymarket will migrate from bridged USDC on Polygon to Circle-issued native USDC, reducing reliance on cross-chain bridges as prediction markets expand. Circle Internet Group has partnered with Polymarket to transition the prediction market’s settlement infrastructure to native USDC, replacing bridged stablecoin collateral used for trading on its platform. According to Thursday’s announcement, Polymarket currently uses bridged USDC (USDC.e) on Polygon as trading collateral and plans to migrate to Circle-issued native USDC (USDC) over the next few months. Native USDC is issued by Circle’s regulated entities and can be redeemed one-for-one for US dollars, offering a “capital-efficient” and scalable alternative without relying on cross-chain bridges. Cross-chain bridges are protocols that transfer tokens between blockchains by locking assets on one network and issuing corresponding representations on another. However, secure cross-chain communication introduces trade-offs in security, trust or flexibility that ...

At Davos, Jeremy Allaire said Circle's stablecoin functions as shared infrastructure rather than a competitor to banks or card networks. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company views its dollar-pegged stablecoin as neutral financial infrastructure with network effects, rather than a product meant to compete with existing payment companies. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box during the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, Allaire said Circle does not view card networks such as Visa or Mastercard as competitors, describing them instead as “significant partners.” According to Allaire, stablecoins are “network effect businesses,” with usage and circulation increasing as more developers and institutions integrate, adding that Circle operates as a “neutral company” that does not compete with banks, payment companies or exchanges. Read more

Onchain asset manager Maple is taking syrupUSDC to Coinbase’s Base network, adding institutional credit rails while pursuing Aave's Base instance next. Onchain asset manager Maple is extending its yield-bearing US dollar token, syrupUSDC, to Coinbase’s Base network, plugging institutional credit directly into a fast‑growing Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem. According to a Thursday release shared with Cointelegraph, the launch will provide the company with a “direct path” to Coinbase’s broader ecosystem of users and products, while making institutional-grade yield available to a wider base of onchain users, rather than keeping it siloed on the Ethereum mainnet. An Aave governance proposal is also currently live to onboard syrupUSDC as collateral on the Aave V3 Base Instance, if the vote passes. Read more

Bermuda wants to become the world's first “fully on-chain national economy.” The announcement, delivered jointly by the island's government, Circle, and Coinbase on Jan. 19, frames the initiative as the deployment of digital asset infrastructure across government agencies, local banks, insurers, small businesses, and consumers, with USDC positioned as the primary payment rail. The pitch: […] The post One country is moving its economy “fully on-chain” with USDC, but the data reveals a massive hidden catch appeared first on CryptoSlate.

USDC grew faster than USDT for the second consecutive year, driven by increased demand for regulated digital dollars.