Circle’s Digital Dollar, USD Coin, Is Now Available Natively on the Layer-1 Blockchain Aptos, Empowering Developers and Users

USDC (USDC) goes live natively on Aptos (APT) about two months after Circle announced that the stablecoin would be launching on the Move-based layer-1 blockchain.

Stablecoin issuer Circle announced on Monday, Feb. 27, that its digital dollar, USD Coin (USDC), is now available natively on layer-1 blockchain Aptos (APT). This integration allows users and developers to directly use USDC on the Aptos blockchain without relying on cross-chain bridges.

The native integration of USDC on Aptos follows an initial announcement in November 2024, which stated that the stablecoin would be launching on the Move-based layer-1 blockchain. At the time, the integration of Circle’s cross-chain transfer protocol was also announced.

Now, both native USD Coin and the cross-chain transfer protocol are live on Aptos, according to the latest announcement from Circle. The stablecoin issuer noted that the native availability of USDC will enable financial institutions and the broader Aptos user community to leverage USDC liquidity across various applications.

These applications include decentralized finance (DeFi), peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, real-world assets, remittances, and gaming applications on the Aptos blockchain.

Prior to the native integration of USDC on Aptos, a bridged version of the stablecoin was available on the blockchain, known as lzUSDC. This version of USDC was not directly issued by Circle but was instead bridged from Ethereum to Aptos via the AptosBridge on LayerZero.

With the native integration of USDC on Aptos, bridge providers such as Stargate, which is built on LayerZero, will collaborate with the Aptos ecosystem to facilitate the migration from lzUSDC to native USDC, according to the announcement.

Furthermore, Circle’s cross-chain transfer protocol will allow interoperability providers to offer USD Coin transfers across different blockchains. This is similar to what the interoperability protocol Wormhole has implemented.

On Jan. 30, Wormhole announced that it had integrated Circle’s cross-chain transfer protocol on Aptos, enabling developers to add native USD Coin transfers in their decentralized applications (DApps) “with just 3 lines of code.” Some of the Aptos-based protocols tapping into this functionality include Cellana Finance, Echelon Market, Meso, and Thala Labs.