Stablecoin issuer Circle said it activated native USDC and EURC, the cross-chain transfer protocol CCTP, and the developer tool Bridge Kit on the Plasma mainnet on August 28 local time. Plasma is an Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible Layer 1 designed to process high volumes of stablecoin transactions. With this deployment, developers can connect dollar- and euro-pegged tokens issued directly by Circle to payments, remittances, trading, foreign exchange, and treasury management. CCTP burns USDC on the origin chain and submits a message signed by Circle's off-chain attestation service to the destination chain, where the same amount is newly minted, handling movement between chains without wrapped tokens or bridge liquidity pools. However, CCTP covers only USDC; EURC is not included. Circle disclosed the mainnet contract addresses for USDC and EURC, and USDC minting transactions can be confirmed on the Plasma block explorer on the day of launch. Circle explained that euro-denominated EURC is suited to on-chain activity within the European Union, where one-to-one redeemability and compliance with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) are required. Circle said that from the same day users can use USDC in Plasma One, Plasma's stablecoin app and card. Circle Mint accounts, which use fiat on- and off-ramps directly, are institution-only, and individuals gain access through exchanges, wallets, and service providers. That said, Circle stated that, within the scope of MiCA compliance, it will also accept redemption requests for USDC and EURC from holders who are not Circle Mint customers. In other words, the scope of who may request redemption and the eligibility to deposit and withdraw fiat directly through Circle Mint are separate matters.
Circle Activates Native USDC and EURC and CCTP on Plasma: Direct Fiat Deposits and Withdrawals Are Institution-Only
Metanomia View
Plasma has widened the payment and settlement routes for dollar and euro tokens, but final redemption and cross-chain attestation gather once again in Circle's issuer authority. In exchange for reducing wrapped-bridge risk, the structure concentrates the powers of issuance, redemption, freezing, and attestation in a single company. When designing a won-denominated stablecoin domestically, open on-chain use, the scope of the redemption claim, eligibility for direct ramp access, and freezing and recovery powers in the event of an incident should each be indicated separately.