Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has partnered with the major crypto exchange OKX to make switching between USDC and U.S. dollars more efficient and cost-effective.
As part of the deal, OKX will now let users convert USDC to USD and back with zero fees, helping boost the stablecoin’s liquidity, the two companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“The upgraded USDC liquidity builds on OKX’s deep bank partnerships and compliance approach, which allow users to swap USD and stablecoin, without any friction or fees, for the first time.”
OKX’s chief innovation officer Jason Lau.
There are some challenges including things like high network fees and the complicated process of moving money between banks and crypto exchanges, says Ashley Lannquist, a former digital finance analyst at the IMF.
USDC works on 23 different blockchain networks, and OKX supports 12 of them. These include major ones like Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum One, Avalanche, and OKX’s own OKT Chain.
While this new partnership between Circle and OKX doesn’t lower network fees, it does help reduce some of the technical and infrastructure issues that users face when moving or converting USDC.
“Now, with this partnership with Circle, we’ve enabled 1:1 USD-to-USDC conversions and integrated with banking partners to streamline fiat on- and off-ramps so that both retail and institutional users will be able to better benefit,” Lau said.
OKX Expands USDC Access Through Global Banking Partners
To make USDC more available and easier to use for its 60 million global users, OKX has teamed up with several banks and payment providers.
According to Lau, the exchange’s main money transfer partners include Standard Chartered Bank, DBS, Bank Frick, and global payment tools like Apple Pay and PayPal.
Lau added that the improved USDC liquidity will be available to anyone who has USD or USDC in their OKX account.
Circle’s Caroline Razzaghi said the new USDC-to-USD conversion feature will be usable across many OKX services, like trading, sending, and storing USDC.
While OKX is boosting support for USDC, it’s also continuing to grow its support for Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market size, making sure users have access to strong liquidity for both major stablecoins.