The Goldman Sachs Backed startup Circle has announced a new cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar and a $110 million investment round led by profitable crypto-mining company Bitmain on Tuesday.
The company is rolling out a digital version of the U.S dollar with a cryptocurrency pegged to it.
Interestingly, Circle is one of the most well-funded blockchain startups with Baidu and Goldman Sachs at its foreman investors. The fintech company is involved in its peer-to-peer payment network operations using blockchain, the technology that underpins bitcoin.
Circle founders @psneville and @jerallaire took the stage at #Consensus2018 earlier today to announce Circle USDC, a price-stable tokenized US dollar coin. Learn more about it here: https://t.co/8fZN6vDryb
— Circle (@circlepay) May 15, 2018
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle said in his statement,
There are a number of banks who are excited about it and will support it. It unlocks an incredible amount of power for the dollar or in other words It’s basically a dollar that operates on the blockchain.
The company’s new coin is being aimed to solve the maiden age problem in digital currencies i.e use case volatility. Presently, the USD coin is being run on a blockchain known as ethereum, but Allaire said they’re open-minded about other platforms if any come to market that can outperform.
Meanwhile, Bitmain which is often recognised as a crypto mining major has completed a strategic investment of $110 million in Circle making it reach an impressive valuation of $3 billion. This funding round witnessed participation from investors such as Tusk Ventures, IDG Capital, Pantera and Blockchain Capital.