Circle recently announced plans to launch a new native version of stablecoin USD Coin on the Arbitrum network on June 8.
According to a blog post, Circle will replace the current version of USD Coin (USDC), an Ethereum-based token connected to Arbitrum, with a native token that runs and resides on the Arbitrum network itself:
This will be the official version of USDC recognized in the Arbitrum ecosystem and will eventually replace the currently circulating bridging version of USDC coming from Ethereum.
Ahead of the launch, Circle plans to rename the current Ethereum-based version of USDC to “USDC.e”. The original version will be listed as “bridged USDC” and the new Arbitrum-based version will be named “USDC”.
According to Circle, the goal of this effort is to speed up transactions through the use of cross-chain transfer protocols (CCTP).
CCTP are protocols that handle the transfer of assets between blockchains, allowing users to unify liquidity. They support both crypto and Web3 assets across portfolios.
“This will allow USDC to move natively to and from Ethereum (and other supported chains) in minutes,” the Arbitrum team wrote, adding that “there are no more withdrawal delays.”