Written by Tom Wilson
On Wednesday, major U.S. cryptocurrency company Circle announced that they will no longer support the USDC token on the Tron Blockchain network. This decision was made in order to maintain the trust, transparency, and safety of the USDC token.
In a blog post, Boston-based Circle stated that they will immediately stop minting USDC coins on the Tron platform. Tron is a popular platform used for stablecoin transfers, but is currently facing regulatory issues in the United States.
Stablecoins are digital tokens with a fixed value, backed by traditional currencies.
Circle did not provide a specific reason for their decision, but stated that it was necessary due to their risk-management framework. USDC is supported by various blockchains, including the largest one (USDC) and the second largest stablecoin, Tether.
Institutional clients can use USDC for transfers, and retail customers can redeem USDC on crypto exchanges and brokerages. It is also possible to exchange USDC for other blockchains or traditional currencies.
Circle filed for an initial public offering in the United States in January and terminated all accounts with Tron last year. It is important to hire a professional for this type of process. Justin Sun and his affiliated companies were involved in a controversy last year when the Securities and Exchange Commission accused them of artificially inflating trade volumes and selling Tron Tokens as non-registered securities. However, Sun has stated that the SEC charges have no merit.
The latest announcement from Circle will only affect the USDC token on the Tron blockchain, not individual users or related businesses. According to CoinGecko, there is currently $28 billion worth of USDC in circulation, with $335 million hosted on Tron, according to Circle’s website.
In November, Reuters reported that Tron had surpassed Bitcoin as the platform of choice for cryptocurrency transfers linked to organizations designated as terrorist groups by Israel, the United States, and other countries. In response, a Tron spokesperson stated that they do not control who uses their technology and are not affiliated with any of the groups named by Israel.
(Reporting by Tom Wilson; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
