tl;dr
Circle has acquired tokenization firm Hashnote, the issuer of the USYC token, and partnered with DRW Cumberland to enhance USYC and USD Coin (USDC) liquidity in crypto and traditional markets. Hashnote's tokenized money fund, Hashnote Short Duration Yield Coin, is the largest in the world with over ...
Circle has made significant moves in the cryptocurrency and traditional markets, acquiring RWA issuer Hashnote and partnering with DRW to enhance USDC liquidity. The acquisition of Hashnote and the partnership with DRW Cumberland aim to drive USDC and USYC in both crypto and traditional markets.
Circle plans to integrate USYC with USDC to improve accessibility between tokenized money market fund collateral and the stablecoin market. This integration seeks to establish USYC as the preferred yield-bearing collateral on exchanges, custodians, and prime brokers.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO and Chairman of Circle, emphasized the groundbreaking potential of this development, stating, "As cash and yield-bearing short-duration treasury bill assets become fungible and convertible at blockchain speeds, this development unlocks significant opportunities for institutional adoption and sets a new standard for financial market structures."
Furthermore, Circle has revealed the issuance of native USDC on the layer-1 blockchain Canton, which has issued over $3.6 trillion in tokenized real-world assets. The infrastructure of Canton is already utilized and supported by major traditional banks, trading firms, asset managers, and exchanges.
In an effort to catch up with Tether USD (USDT), Circle has partnered with Binance and recently reported that USDC surpassed $20 trillion in all-time transaction volume and showed a 78% year-over-year growth in circulation supply. Despite these achievements, USDC still trails behind USDT, which dominates the stablecoin market with a supply nearly three times larger than that of USDC.
This strategic acquisition and partnership signify Circle's commitment to advancing its presence in the cryptocurrency and traditional markets while striving to establish USDC as a formidable competitor in the stablecoin arena.