Steemit Crypto Academy minggu 7: Koin stabil - Part2 || USD Coin(USDC)
What is USD Coin?
USD Coin (USDC) is a fully insured, US dollar-backed stablecoin launched in 2018 by a consortium company called Center. USDC is based on Ethereum's proprietary ERC-20 standard, which allows interoperability with most major wallets and custodial services. As of 23 November 2020, USDC has become the second largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization.
What are stablecoins?
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to an asset, or a group of assets. These 'stable' assets can be other cryptocurrencies, local fiat currencies, or even commodities like gold. In this case, the USDC is pegged to an asset: the US dollar. This means that for every 1 USDC, the issuer has 1 US dollar as collateral.
How is the USDC pegged to the dollar?
A USDC token is created when someone buys a token from an approved issuer. For every US dollar received, the issuer will create a smart contract to create the equivalent of USDC. This will then be sent back to the original buyer. The US dollars sent to the publisher are then held as collateral. Buyers also own their USDC, which can be exchanged to the issuer for the equivalent of the fiat US dollar currency. This ensures that each USDC token is backed by US dollars and can be exchanged on a 1: 1 system.
How can I buy USDC?
USDC tokens can be purchased directly from the issuer as mentioned above or can be exchanged on an exchange such as Luno. When USDC is obtained through an exchange, the token is not obtained from the issuer directly, but through a third party, but you still own the token and will always be able to exchange it with the issuer if you wish.
How is USDC different from other stablecoins?
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the issuer directly, however USDC differs from other stablecoins such as Tether in that the issuers state that they are regulated financial institutions with high corporate management standards, which are obliged to provide full transparency and are audited regularly. This guarantees that the deposits held have a 1: 1 ratio of their fiat currency equivalent. All USDC issuers are required to report their USD holdings, which is then published by Grant Thornton LLP accounting firm on a monthly basis. These monthly reports are available online for anyone who wants to read them.
What is the importance?
Basically, USDC is turning the US dollar into a token and placing it on the blockchain. By doing so, they become easier to transfer, so they can be transferred anywhere in the world instantly - unlike the traditional 'fiat version' of the US dollar, which takes a relatively long time to move and has to go through traditional financial institutions and all the processes. Turning US dollars into tokens also adds functionality, by making it easier to program and use in dApps.
From a user perspective, USDC is used for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is to deal with volatility when the market is down - in both your cryptocurrency and your local currency. Another reason is that when you sell crypto assets, you may want to deposit your money on the platform so that it is ready for the next stage. If you store it in USDC, you don't have to pay fees for fiat both on and off the platform.
That's all from me @zanis, I hope it's useful and can add knowledge for all of us. Thank you.
Hi @zanis
Thanks for attending the 7th -Crypto course on stable coins and for your effort in doing the given homework task.
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This is good work. Well done with your research on USDC
Homework task
7.5