Coinbase Acquires Equity in Circle, Dissolves Joint Centre Consortium Overseeing USDC

San Francisco's Coinbase Global announces an equity acquisition in Circle Internet Financial, ending their joint Centre Consortium, which managed the stablecoin, USDC. The change reflects growing global stablecoin regulatory clarity.

The decision to terminate Centre Consortium comes amidst increasing regulatory clarity surrounding stablecoins in the United States and globally.

In a recent blog post, Coinbase stated that a separate governance body like Centre is no longer required. Hence, Circle will assume full control over USDC issuance and governance, having previously served solely as the stablecoin's issuer. Stablecoins, digital tokens with a value linked to a stable asset, protect against market volatility. In the case of USDC, the value remains pegged to the US dollar.

Coinbase plans to launch USDC on six additional blockchains between September and October, expanding the multi-chain access of the stablecoin to 15 blockchains.

Under the new arrangement, Coinbase and Circle will continue to generate revenue from interest income generated by USDC reserves. The revenue-sharing model will be based on the amount of USDC held on each platform. "We will now equally share in interest income generated from the broader distribution and usage of USDC," said Coinbase.

Coinbase's approval to offer cryptocurrency futures trading to US retail customers on August 16 positioned the firm as the first crypto-focused company to secure such regulatory consent. Market participants perceive this as a potential catalyst for revitalizing the shrinking $2 trillion cryptocurrency derivatives market. The news has sparked optimism and newfound momentum within the industry.

The crypto markets have endured a prolonged period of stagnation, with Bitcoin and other digital assets experiencing lackluster performance. Factors such as hawkish monetary policies by central banks worldwide and incidents at major exchanges, including FTX and Binance, have dampened investor interest in volatile crypto assets.

Coinbase's recent announcement coincides with a decline in trading volumes within the derivatives market due to economic uncertainties, persistent regulatory challenges, and low market volatility. These factors have deterred investors from making substantial bets.

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