Bitwage halts USDC payments for US residents, cites ‘strict regulations'

In an email sent to customers on July 5, crypto payroll company Bitwage announced it would disable payments in USD Coin (USDC) for U.S. residents. Over the past month, financial regulators in the U.S. have increased their regulatory scrutiny of the crypto space, bringing charges against major crypto firms, including Binance and Coinbase.

Timeline of Usd-coin

Hong Kong government should consider launching its own stablecoin, the HKDG, backed by its foreign exchange reserves. That's according to a proposal put forward by web3 expert and Hong Kong University Vice Chancellor Wang Yang; angel investor Cai Wensheng; BlockCity founder Lei Zhibin; and Ph.D.

Hong Kong is wasting no time since it opened its doors to the crypto industry last month. A recent proposal is for the creation of an HKD stablecoin to compete with USD-denominated ones.

“Issuing a stablecoin pegged to the HK dollar not only helps to solidify HK's leadership in the blockchain sector but also propels the progress of the digital HK dollar," said the report.

To solidify its position as a global financial hub, Hong Kong is making waves in the cryptocurrency industry with plans to launch its state-backed stablecoin. This move comes as the region's interest in digital currencies and Web3 technology continues to grow.

USDC experienced a notable decrease in its circulating supply during the weekend, causing ripples of concern within the cryptocurrency market. According to data from CoinGecko, the stablecoin's circulating supply dwindled by over 2%, falling from $27.9 billion on June 30 to $27.3 billion in less than 48 hours.

Coinbase said Wednesday that Coinbase Advanced, its trading platform aimed at more sophisticated traders, will offer “up to 4% rewards on the USDC that they hold on Coinbase or on any USDC used in open orders.”

Circle, the blockchain startup and stablecoin issuer, has unveiled its Cross Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on the Arbitrum network. The launch of CCTP aims to enhance the accessibility and movement of the USDC stablecoin on the Ethereum Layer-2 scaling network.

German multinational software giant SAP is launching a new “test drive” for a proposed blockchain-based cross-border payments system. In a new blog post, Sissi Ruthe, a product expert at SAP, says that digital assets have the potential to significantly speed up and reduce the costs of cross-border payments.

Coinbase's recent announcement regarding the addition of support for USD Coin (USDC) on the Stellar network has caught the crypto community's attention. The move signifies Coinbase's commitment to facilitate both withdrawals and deposits of Circle's stablecoin, enhancing transaction speed and reducing costs significantly.

Coinbase, the renowned cryptocurrency exchange platform, has made a game-changing move by embracing Stellar‘s USD Coin (USDC), as announced by the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) on June 23. This exciting development allows Coinbase users to seamlessly deposit and withdraw Circle's stablecoin via the robust Stellar network.