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Circle (USDC)
A-Multi-Institution Reserves (BlackRock + BNY Mellon)DistributedInstitutions & Developers
Circle is the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market cap. USDC reserves are held in short-duration US Treasuries (via BlackRock's Circle Reserve Fund) and cash deposits at BNY Mellon. Monthly attestations are published by Deloitte. Circle operates Circle Mint for institutional direct minting/burning and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) for multi-chain transfers.
82
Score Breakdown
Custody & Security35% weight
85
Ease of Use20% weight
82
Fees15% weight
78
Features10% weight
75
Transparency10% weight
92
Support10% weight
78
Assessment
Key Strength
USDC reserves custodied by BlackRock (Circle Reserve Fund) and BNY Mellon. Monthly attestations by Deloitte. Most transparent stablecoin issuer and GENIUS Act ready.
Primary Risk
Circle operates as a single issuer entity. Reserves are diversified across institutions but redemption depends on Circle's operational continuity.
Pros
- +Most transparent reserve composition
- +Multi-institution reserve custody
- +Regulated money transmitter in 49 US states
- +GENIUS Act compliant architecture
- +Deep DeFi integration
Cons
- -Single issuer entity risk
- -Free minting only for large institutional clients
- -Previously de-pegged briefly during SVB collapse (March 2023)
Custody Features
✕Multisig
Multi-Institution
No Single Point of Failure
Segregated Accounts
Proof of Reserves
Insurance
Regulated Custodian
No Physical Exposure
Multi-Jurisdiction
✕Inheritance
✕Segregated Insurance
✕IRA
✕Lending
Buy/Sell
✕Dynasty Trusts
Fees
Free mint/burn (institutional)
Minimum$0 (exchanges) / $100K (Circle Mint)
Security
Key Management
Institutional custody infrastructure
SOC Compliance
SOC 2 Type 2
Penetration Testing
Insurance & Regulatory
Jurisdiction
United States
Licenses
Money Transmitter (49 states), UK EMI License, France DASP, Singapore MPI
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