The Potential Integration of USDC on X
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed interest in leveraging Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) for payments on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In a recent post on December 29, Armstrong highlighted the value of incorporating USDC payments on X and urged the X team to explore the possibility of implementing this feature.
This public endorsement follows a similar suggestion made by Travis Bloom, Coinbase’s Lead Engineer, who questioned when X owner Elon Musk would enable users to send and receive USDC on the Base network.
Industry experts believe that integrating USDC payments aligns with X’s broader vision of introducing a payment system and evolving the social media platform into a comprehensive “everything app.”
X’s Payment Service Plans
X recently announced plans to introduce a peer-to-peer payment service similar to PayPal in the future. Although the specifics regarding the service’s currency—whether fiat or crypto—remain undisclosed, the launch of this initiative is pending.
X has been actively acquiring money transmitter licenses across 33 states in the US through its subsidiary, X Payments, including key states like California, Illinois, and Virginia.
Benefits of USDC Integration
Integrating USDC via Coinbase-backed Base could prove to be a strategic move for both X and the stablecoin.
USDC, the second-largest stablecoin globally after Tether’s USDT, prioritizes compliance standards. In 2024, USDC’s total supply surged by over 80%, reaching more than $43 billion from $24.2 billion.
The presence of USDC on Ethereum Layer 2 networks has also witnessed substantial growth, with solutions like Base and Arbitrum seeing a significant increase in USDC supply, as highlighted by Circle’s Peter Schroeder.
Growth and Success of Base
Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, experienced a remarkable 26x growth in USDC usage, solidifying its position as the leading Layer 2 network on Ethereum based on activity levels.
With 5.77 million weekly active addresses, Base accounts for nearly 58% of all Layer 2 activity, showcasing its rapid expansion and adoption.
The total value of assets locked on Base has surged from $745 million at the start of the year to $13.8 billion, as reported by L2Beats data, indicating the platform’s significant growth and increased user engagement.
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