Circle to expand Euro Coin to Solana in H1 2023 via its cross-chain protocol

    07 Nov 2022
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    Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC, is expanding Euro Coin to the Solana blockchain in the first half of 2023. The payments firm plans to launch its cross-chain protocol, and it will also be expanded to Solana.

    In June, Circle launched Euro Coin as a European take on its popular stablecoin USDC but pegged to the euro instead of the US dollar. Currently, it works on the Ethereum blockchain.

    According to a statement, FTX will add support for the Euro Coin when it goes live on Solana. Circle said other DeFi protocols have also expressed interest in supporting the stablecoin.

    “The availability of Euro Coin on Solana unlocks new use cases for instant FX, provides optionality for traders with a new base currency, allows for Euro Coin lending and borrowing, and will be available alongside USDC as a payment currency in Solana Pay,” Sheraz Shere, head of payments at Solana Labs, stated.

    Also, Circle is planning to expand its yet-to-launched cross-chain transfer protocol to Solana. Cross-chain transfer protocol lets crypto projects transfer USDC across different blockchains. It uses versions of the stablecoin native to each chain rather than using wrapped tokens.

    Announced in September, the protocol is set to go live at the beginning of 2023 on Ethereum and Avalanche. Circle expects to bring it to the Solana blockchain in the first half of 2023.

    Meantime, Amazon revealed in September it collaborates with the European Central Bank (ECB) to develop a digital euro prototype among its other selected partners. The ECB announced the selection of five new partners to support the development of a digital euro prototype. Amazon will be responsible for designing e-commerce payments during the prototyping exercise from September to December 2022.

    Point of sale payments from the payer and payee are in the hands of the ECB-backed European Payment Initiative and the Italian paytech company, Nexi, respectively. Amazon will be responsible for developing e-commerce payments within the project.

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