Outside Audit Confirms Circle’s Stablecoin USDC Is Fully Backed by USD as of the End of 2018

One of the fastest growing sub-industries in the crypto sphere over the past year was the world of stablecoins – digital assets that represent a traditional financial asset and that are also fully backed by it. While the prospect of acquiring a cryptocurrency that has an actual backing to it allures many investors, there is also a cloud of skepticism enveloping stablecoins; and at least in some cases these doubts are justified.

For instance, the most popular and largest stablecoin by market capitalization, Tether (USDT), is currently under investigation of the US Justice Department for allegedly manipulation the price of Bitcoin.

This is why some crypto firms that have created stablecoins insist on complete transparency and an outside audit of a reputable third-party company. Such is the case with Circle’s stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), which is periodically being reviewed by the accounting company Grant Thornton, and the results of the audit are released to the public. According to the last report of Grant Thornton, which was issued on January 16, Circle’s USDC is fully backed by USD reserves as of December 31, 2018; in fact, Circle even holds a small change of $61.

USD Coin (“USDC”) tokens issued and outstanding = 251,211,148 USDC

US Dollars held in custody accounts = $251,211,209

As of the Report Date and Time, the issued and outstanding USDC tokens do not exceed the balance of the US Dollars held in custody accounts

According to CoinMarketCap, USDC currently has a market capitalization of a little over $311 million, which sets it as the 20^th largest cryptocurrency with a daily trading volume of around $25 million. You can read the full 2-page report of Grant Thornton here.