Circle, a fintech company, launched the Euro-backed stablecoin last year. Until recently, it ran on Ethereum, which we all know is a solid blockchain but not without its quirks. But now, hold your horses, because they’ve announced that the Euro-coin (EUROC) will be available on Avalanche. Holy moly, that’s some perfect news! Let’s dive into why this is so exciting.
Circle’s Background
So, first of all, who the hell are Circle and why has this made so much noise?
For those who have never heard of them, Circle is a financial company that provides a platform for instant money transfers. They started as a small firm back in 2013 and have gained their fair share of followers step by step by expanding their services and offering unique features. One of their standout selling points was the introduction of insured Bitcoin Wallets, after they had received a BitLicence and were allowed to handle Bitcoin in the first place. To make sure their users don’t end up empty-handed if their coins get swiped, Circle has got their backs covered with a stash of Bitcoin equivalent to the total amount held by their users.
Remember how I mentioned instant money transfers? Exactly. Another feature is using blockchain to transfer fiat money. I mean, I know you can do that, but how cool is that they are doing that on such a scale?
Euro-Based Stablecoin
Now back to EUROC. EUROC is a stablecoin, which means it is backed up by actual Euro. These things exist to serve as kind of equivalents to fiat currencies. Unlike other crypto currencies there are, the prices of stablecoins, including that of EUROC, are stable; crypto market does not impact them that much.
The fact that EUROC is a digital currency that takes its value from real cash is just one of the perks there are. This actually means that severe fluctuations of its price are not expected, which makes EUROC a perfect medium for transactions. Besides, they can be used as a way of transferring funds using blockchain technology; faster and at lower prices.
Before EUROC, Circle did the trick with American bucks, and that’s how USDC came into this world. This is exactly why launching EUROC was no surprise to anyone, and experts were really welcoming the launch. John Nahas, Vice President of Business Development at Ava Labs, says that they see that USDC trades well and the volumes are fine, so they think it will be about the same with Euro-coin, as both fiat currencies have great worldwide recognition.
Read also: USDT, USDC, and BUSD – Which one is the best stablecoin?
Role of Avalanche Blockchain
Avalanche Blockchain uses a cooler version of the algorithms such as Proof-of-Stake (Ethereum) or Proof-of-Work (Bitcoin). Unlike those algorithms, were transaction is validated by specific number of validators, Avalanche uses another consensus mechanism called “randomized sampling.”
Circle has been using Avalanche to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions, basically. Joao Reginatto, the vice president of product at Circle, said that when they first launched EUROC last year, they expected to make Euro, or rather its crypto equivalent, available to anyone anywhere, and now with Avalanche, it becomes more affordable. Besides, as decentralized finance is becoming more ubiquitous and multi-coin, introducing Euro-coin seems to be contributing to the diversity and may actually be one of the steps toward expansion of the available options. After all, who knows what the future of finance will look like? Will we have physical cash or even bank accounts in 10-20-30 years? I don’t know, do you?
Impact on Crypto Markets
The crypto market impact is basically associated with the fact that EUROC is another stablecoin on the market. The key expected impact of introducing it on Avalanche according to Circle themselves is improving the liquidity of the fiat Euro and expanding its functionality. Besides, rumor has it, they have also applied to become a fully registered Digital Assets Service Provider in Europe, which is why having a Euro stablecoin that runs on a blockchain platform with good reputation and a wide spectrum of protocols that make it stand out, seems to be a logical first-step to conquering European cryptocurrency market.
To wrap it all up, Circle’s move to bring the Euro-coin to Avalanche is a basically a game-changer. It adds another dash of stability to the crypto world due to stablecoin advantages, while opening up new possibilities for fast and affordable transactions due to Avalanche blockchain technology. With Circle’s reputation and their plans to conquer the European market, EUROC in particular and Circle’s increased presence in Europe in general hold the potential we may not even realize. Who knows, we might just witness a revolution in the way we handle money in the years to come. Maybe, we’ll even see the whole banking system reformed. Or made obsolete. So buckle up and get ready for the ride!
