Coinbase extends USDC stablecoin trading to 85 countries

Image by Marco Vech Professional Photographer and Speaker photstream

Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase revealed it has expanded support for crypto-to-crypto trading for USD Coin (USDC) to 85 countries.

In a blog post released on Tuesday, Coinbase said that its crypto-to-crypto trading can be done on both its retail Coinbase.com site and Coinbase Pro service.

Pointing out some of the advantages of using USDC over cash, the exchange said, “Unlike other cryptocurrencies, each USDC is backed by $1 USD with monthly transparent audits showing 100% USD backing.” It also touted its strengths over cash, saying USDC can be moved “near-instantly and globally,” utilized in different dapps, and stored securely in crypto wallets.

The California-based firm also said USDC can help countries suffering from inflation.

“For new customers in countries like Argentina and Uzbekistan, where consumer prices are expected to inflate by 10–20% in 2020, stablecoins like USDC could provide an opportunity to protect against inflation,” Coinbase said.

“We see USDC as an important step towards a more open financial system,” Coinbase said, noting that there are already over 300 million circulating USDC and more than 100 ecosystem supporters.

In the same announcement, Coinbase said it now offers trading services in 103 countries, which includes the recent addition of 50 countries. Last year, the number only stood at 32 nations.

It also revealed that its investment arm Coinbase Ventures is working with projects like AirTM to boost fiat payment rails. AirTM leverages technology to deliver first-class financial infrastructure to people to promote economic freedom.

“Those who are technologically savvy know that if everyone learns how to use cryptocurrencies, many economic problems that we have today would no longer exist,” AirTM said.

Meanwhile, Coinbase Custody has added support for more than 20 new cryptocurrencies in 2019, including major ones like Augur (REP), ZCash (ZEC), and Tezos (XTZ). It has also added more features and support for the assets such as offering staking services for offline assets and providing OTC trading from cold storage.