USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin cryptocurrency that is pegged to the U.S. dollar at a 1:1 ratio. It was launched in 2018 by Circle and Coinbase, two prominent companies in the cryptocurrency space. The idea behind stablecoins is to provide a digital currency that is not subject to the volatility of other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, but rather maintains a stable value similar to traditional fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar.

USDC is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, which means that it is a digital asset that runs on the Ethereum network and is compatible with any Ethereum wallet. It is backed by a reserve of U.S. dollars held in a bank account, which is audited regularly to ensure that the number of tokens in circulation matches the number of dollars in the reserve. This provides transparency and accountability to ensure that USDC remains fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times.

USDC can be used for a variety of purposes, such as buying and selling other cryptocurrencies, making payments and transfers, and storing value. It has gained popularity among cryptocurrency traders and investors who want to move funds between exchanges quickly and easily, without the need to convert to fiat currencies and incur exchange fees.