TL; DR
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Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, is trying to go public.
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From a critical perspective, Circle is certainly a regulated private company…but so did FTX.
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By going public, Circle will be placed under more scrutiny and the “trust me, bro” factor will be drastically reduced.
Full story
We’re always trying to reduce our dependence on “trust me, bro” information in the crypto world.
The more transparency and third-party oversight a project has, the more reliable it becomes.
In the same way that airlines are regulated by government agencies, to ensure they all adhere to safe maintenance schedules etc.
(But even that is it no guarantee of safety).
And that’s why this news story fascinates us…
Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, is trying to go public.
On the surface, that sounds like a total snooze-fest, but there’s more to it!
Circle pegs its USDC token to the price of the US dollar, by owning some (you guessed it) US dollars.
If you buy USDC → Circle uses that money to buy US dollars…
That, and dollar equivalents, like:
Corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and U.S. Treasury bonds (all of which are essentially highly reliable IOUs that produce a return for Circle).
That return is how Circle makes money from USDC.
At least, that’s how the company is claims to earn his money…
From a critical perspective, Circle is certainly a regulated private company…but so did FTX.
By going public, Circle will be placed under more scrutiny and the “trust me, bro” factor will be drastically reduced.
(Let’s hope the SEC allows the public listing).