Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, is acquiring a minority stake in Circle Internet Financial.
The move will bring USD Coin (USDC), the world’s second-largest stablecoin, under Circle’s control, as the companies agreed to end the Centre Consortium partnership that issued USDC. As a US dollar stablecoin, USDC’s price is tied to $1.
Additionally, six more blockchains will gain native support to foe USDC, bringing the number of supported blockchains to 15, according to reports.
The companies did not name the additional blockchains, however, nor did they disclose the size of the Circle stake that Coinbase acquired. Notably, Coinbase did not pay cash for the stake, according to reports citing a person familiar with the matter.
Stablecoins like USDC matter to Coinbase because they play a role in not just crypto trading but also foreign exchange and transferring money between countries.
“Coinbase and Circle will continue to generate revenue from USDC reserves interest income,” according to the blog post announcement. “Under the parties’ new arrangement, this revenue will continue to be shared based on the amount of USDC held on each of our platforms, and additionally we will now equally share in interest income generated from the broader distribution and usage of USDC.”
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel