USDC Issuer Circle Supports Solana, but its Price Drops 10%.

The Euro Coin (EUROC) initiative and access to its Cross-chain Transfer Protocol are strengthening Solana support in the first half of 2023.

A tweet from Circle, a significant global finance company and USDC issuer, on November 6 said that Solana had received crucial backing.

1/ On stage at #SolanaBreakpoint we announced the expansion of native support for Euro Coin and developer access to our Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol on @Solana in the first half of 2023. https://t.co/j8NVLG9nsi

— Circle (@circle) November 6, 2022

During the Solana Breakpoint event, Circle announced the Euro Coin’s growth and the launch of its new permissionless cross-chain infrastructure (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol).

Circle Widens

In June, Circle debuted its fully reserved, euro-pegged stablecoin known as Euro Coin (EUROC). The stablecoin currently utilizes the Ethereum network and functions similarly to USDC; as of right now, Solana (SOL) would be included in that group. 

According to Sheraz Shere, Head of Payments at Solana Labs:

“The availability of Euro Coin on Solana unlocks new use cases for instant foreign exchange (FX), provides optionality for traders with a new base currency, allows for Euro Coin lending and borrowing, and will be available alongside USDC as a payment currency in Solana Pay.” 

As a result, new prospects for digital finance have emerged

FTX, one of the most renowned digital asset exchanges, will initially support the Euro Coin on Solana. Raydium and Solend, two more decentralized protocols, have also pledged their support.

The Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol by Circle is also intended to be expanded on Solana. Despite unveiling in September this year, the infrastructure is still developing.

3/ Many of the largest digital asset exchanges and DeFi platforms intend to support #EUROC on Solana at launch, including @FTX_Official, @RaydiumProtocol, and @SolendProtocol.

— Circle (@circle) November 6, 2022

On Ethereum (ETH) and Avalanche (AVAX), it is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2023 and will later spread to Solana.

Thanks to the protocol, developers and cryptocurrency projects can move USDC between other blockchains.

Joao Reginatto, VP of Product at Circle, shed further light on choosing Solana, adding:

“Solana is a logical next step for Euro Coin and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol given the depth and breadth of their developer ecosystem. We’re excited to watch this grow as we launch early next year.”

The SOL Price is Reduced

The ecology of Solana would benefit from these improvements, but what about the cost of its native asset, SOL? On November 5, Google Cloud announced that it would become a Solana validator.

After the news broke, the SOL price increased by almost 15%, bringing its value closer to $40. SOL, however, had a 10% drop as of the time of publication and was currently trading at about $32.

SOL has a long way to go considering its primary challenges, despite optimistic support for the ecosystem.