Circle officially launches native USDC on the Aptos mainnet

Circle has officially launched native USD Coin (USDC) on the Aptos mainnet, marking a significant milestone for both the stablecoin issuer and the Aptos blockchain. This integration allows USD Coin to be used natively on Aptos, which means developers and users can directly utilize the stablecoin on the network without relying on cross-chain bridges.

The launch of native USDC on Aptos comes two months after Circle initially announced plans to integrate the stablecoin with Aptos, a Move-based Layer-1 blockchain. As part of this update, Circle has also rolled out its cross-chain transfer protocol on Aptos. This addition enhances interoperability by allowing USD Coin to seamlessly move across different blockchains. This is similar to solutions provided by interoperability protocols like Wormhole.

Previously, Aptos had been using a bridged version of USD Coin (referred to as lzUSDC), which was bridged via LayerZero. However, this bridged USDC was not issued by Circle itself, leading to potential liquidity and transfer issues. With the introduction of native USD Coin, the Aptos ecosystem now benefits from more direct and reliable access to USD Coin’s liquidity, enabling its use in decentralized finance (DeFi), peer-to-peer payments, remittances, gaming, and more.

To further ease the transition, bridge providers like Stargate (built on LayerZero) are collaborating with Aptos to help users and applications migrate from the bridged version (lzUSDC) to the native USDC. Circle’s cross-chain transfer protocol allows developers to facilitate USD Coin transfers across various blockchains with minimal effort—just three lines of code—making it more accessible for developers building decentralized applications (dApps) on the Aptos network.

Aptos-based projects like Cellana Finance, Echelon Market, Meso, and Thala Labs are already tapping into this functionality to offer native USD Coin transactions, significantly enhancing the network’s utility and appeal in the broader crypto ecosystem.

Overall, this development strengthens USD Coin’s position as a key stablecoin for blockchain applications and further accelerates Aptos’ growth as a promising layer-1 blockchain in the DeFi and Web3 ecosystems.