Stablecoin issuer Circle has expanded its support for USD Coin (USDC) by integrating it with Ethereum zero-knowledge layer-2 solution zkSync. In an announcement on April 9, Circle stated that many leading ecosystem apps and DeFi protocols are expected to support native USDC on zkSync for various purposes such as payments, trading, borrowing, and lending. This move allows developers to build on a stable foundation that is officially supported by Circle. With this integration, USDC is now supported on 16 blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Base, Arbitrum, and others.
The zkSync technology combines zero-knowledge proofs and rollups to ensure transaction integrity without revealing any supporting evidence. Transactions are bundled off the Ethereum main layer and processed at layer 2, resulting in faster and cheaper transactions. The finalized proof is then sent back to the Ethereum mainnet. As of April 9, the zkSync ecosystem boasts over 180 decentralized applications and over 5.7 million unique active wallet addresses in the past 30 days.
Similar to USDC on other blockchains, zkSync USDC can be redeemed one-for-one for U.S. dollars directly through Circle or digital wallets and exchanges. It can also be exchanged for other USDCs via cross-chain bridges. Institutional investors can access the stablecoin through Circle Mint. Circle highlighted that businesses and developers utilize zkSync for its fast, low-cost transactions and native account abstraction. The ultimate goal of zkSync is to increase Ethereum’s throughput while preserving its foundational values.
Circle has been actively expanding the availability of USDC on different blockchains, although it has occasionally paused these efforts. On February 21, Circle halted USDC minting on the Tron blockchain without providing a specific reason, stating that it continually assesses the suitability of all blockchains as part of its risk management process. It is worth noting that last year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Justin Sun and the Tron Foundation, accusing them of offering unregistered securities and engaging in manipulative trading. Sun has denied these allegations.
In a related development, Binance recently followed Circle’s lead by dropping USDC support on the Tron blockchain.