USDC USDC
Rank #6 by market cap
Last 7 days
CM Profile: USDC
Cryptominium Profile. What we have established, measured and written about USDC, and what we have not.
- Measured
- Selling $100,000 on Kraken's order book lost 0.01%, on 9 October 2026.
- Its price, recorded by us every day since 9 August 2026.
- Written, with sources
Read from our own records when this page was made. It describes what we know, and is not a view on whether to hold USDC. How each part is worked out
What changed
Week to 9 OctoberNothing we measure moved much this week: exchange depth on Kraken, trading volume, reported supply and price are all within their usual range.
From our own measurements only, each against the month before. We do not say why a price moves. How this is worked out · Every coin this week
What it actually costs to sell USDC
Selling $100,000 of USDC into each exchange’s resting bids, measured against the mid price:
| Exchange | Lost | Got back | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraken USDC/USD | 0.01% | $99,995 | 2026-10-09 median of 48 |
Exchange figures need an account there (and KYC, a permitted country, the tokens already deposited), are before trading fees, and are never averaged with the on-chain figure. Binance is not included: it refuses requests from the region our servers are in. How this is measured →
Watch this number instead of remembering it. A free account keeps USDC on a list, records where it stood the day you added it, and emails you if selling it on these exchanges gets materially harder — one message, not a series. The measurement itself stays public; the account is for being told when it moves without you looking.
What USDC is
USD Coin (USDC) is a dollar stablecoin issued by Circle, launched in 2018. It is widely used as settlement cash across exchanges and decentralised finance, and is generally regarded as the more compliance-focused of the large stablecoins.
Each token is intended to be backed by an equivalent amount of cash and short-dated US Treasuries held with regulated financial institutions, with reserve reports published monthly.
Its most instructive moment was March 2023, when Circle disclosed that several billion dollars of reserves were held at Silicon Valley Bank as the bank failed. USDC briefly traded below 90 cents before the deposits were guaranteed and the peg recovered. That episode is the clearest illustration of what a fiat-backed stablecoin really is: a claim on a company's bank deposits, carrying the risk of the banks holding them. Circle can also freeze tokens at any address, and does so when compelled by law enforcement.
What USDC can do
Selling $100,000 on Kraken lost 0.01% against the mid price, before trading fees. Check your own amount →
Our own measurement · measured 9 October 2026
You can keep USDC in your own wallet, but Circle can block an address and freeze the USDC in it, for a time or for good. What a wallet actually is →
Source: Circle: USDC Terms · checked 2 October 2026
USDC pays no interest, and Circle keeps what its reserves earn. A return offered on USDC comes from whoever is offering it, and depends on them.
Source: Circle: USDC Terms · checked 2 October 2026
USDC has no maximum. It is created when dollars are paid in to Circle and destroyed when they are paid out.
Source: Circle: transparency · checked 2 October 2026
USDC is designed to be worth one dollar. Circle says it is backed in full by cash and short-dated US government debt, with a monthly report from an accounting firm. It holds for as long as those reserves do.
Source: Circle: transparency · checked 2 October 2026
Only holders of a Circle Mint account can swap USDC for dollars with Circle itself, and those accounts are for institutions, not individuals. Everyone else sells it on an exchange.
Source: Circle Mint · checked 2 October 2026
Circle issues USDC directly on dozens of chains. A "bridged" USDC is a different token, issued by a bridge and not by Circle.
Source: Circle: USDC across chains · checked 2 October 2026
What a coin can do is not a reason to buy it or to sell it. Each answer names its source and the day we read it; where we could not source one, the row is left out. How these are written · Every coin we have written up
Where USDC lives
On Solana, a mint authority can create more of the token and a freeze authority can freeze it in a holder's account; both are read from the token itself, every day. On Ethereum, Base and BNB Chain, GoPlus's analysis of each contract is read weekly: whether it has a function to block addresses or pause transfers, and whether an owner holds it. That is GoPlus's reading, not ours. Where a token exists on several chains, one copy's settings say nothing about the original coin.
Always verify a contract address against the project's own site before sending anything. Addresses are shown as published by CoinGecko, not as an endorsement — and identical-looking tokens on other chains are the most common way people lose money here.
Price change
Compare USDC with
USDC data synced 2m ago from CoinGecko. Figures shown in USD. This page is market information, not financial advice — and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell USDC.