Circle to Discontinue USDC Support on Flow Blockchain

Circle, the issuer of the stablecoin USDC, has announced its intention to discontinue support for USDC on the Flow blockchain, effective September 3, 2024. This decision, detailed in a blog post on August 5, comes in light of Flow’s forthcoming Crescendo upgrade.

Minting of the US dollar-pegged stablecoin will continue on Flow until August 27, 2024, at 12 pm ET. Circle urges all USDC holders on Flow, including Circle Mint customers, retail holders, and non-Circle customers, to transfer their assets to other blockchains before the September deadline.

Flow’s Crescendo upgrade is scheduled for September 4, 2024, at 5 am PT. Post-deadline, Circle will freeze all USDC on Flow. To aid in the transition, a snapshot of user balances will be taken to facilitate manual redemptions starting September 4, 2024.

While Circle primarily serves business and institutional clients, Flow has provided guidance for all USDC holders on their platform. Effective September 3, 2024, at 3 am ET, Circle will cease support for USDC on Cadence as EVM-based ERC-20 USDC becomes compatible across Flow’s ecosystem. Both Circle and Flow will offer resources to ensure a seamless transition.

In response to this change, Flow plans to introduce a new wrapped token within seven days. This token will be backed by USDC bridged on the Ethereum network, allowing Flow users to swap their USDC easily. Users can choose to deposit to Dapper Wallet, swap tokens to Flow’s native FLOW token, or wait for manual redemption after the deadline.

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