In a recent update, USDC issuer Circle has revealed that retail users will no longer have the ability to mint the popular stablecoin directly from the platform. Instead, they will now be required to acquire USDC tokens from exchanges or brokerages.
Circle's decision comes as part of a broader move to discontinue support for legacy consumer accounts, as announced by the company on Tuesday. The USD Coin token, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, maintains a reserve of $1 in cash or cash equivalents for each of its $25 billion worth of tokens currently in circulation. It stands as the second-most widely used dollar-backed stablecoin, trailing only behind Tether (USDT), which boasted a market capitalization of $85 billion on Tuesday, according to data from CoinGecko.
A spokesperson from Circle confirmed the transition, stating, "Circle is phasing out support for legacy consumer accounts and has notified individual consumers of this decision." This statement was made in response to a widely circulated screenshot of an email discussing the changes in public Telegram chats. It is important to note that the account closures apply exclusively to individual retail accounts, with business or institutional Circle Mint accounts remaining unaffected.
As a result of this shift, Circle will no longer facilitate the creation of new accounts for individual retail customers seeking to mint USDC. Instead, retail investors interested in obtaining USDC will be directed towards exchanges or brokerages. It's worth mentioning that Circle Mint accounts will continue to be available, but exclusively for institutional traders, exchange and wallet companies, as well as other fintech firms.
Despite the buzz surrounding this announcement, the Circle spokesperson clarified that the company had not been offering consumer accounts for some years. The stablecoin issuer initially launched its Circle Mint program, originally referred to as Circle Account, back in February 2022. Rachel Mayer, the vice president of product at Circle, stated at the time that the objective was to establish the accounts as the primary destination for payments and treasury activities.
