Injective said it plans to support native issuance of USD Coin and integrate Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, a system developed by USDC issuer Circle that allows the stablecoin to move directly between supported blockchains.

The integration would allow USDC to be issued natively on Injective rather than through bridged versions of the token. It would also enable users to transfer USDC between Injective and other networks without relying on wrapped assets or third-party bridges.

CCTP works by burning USDC on the originating blockchain and minting the same amount on the destination chain, a design intended to reduce risks associated with bridge-based transfers.

Injective, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on trading and financial applications, supports decentralized markets including spot trading, derivatives, and tokenized asset products. Stablecoins typically serve as a base asset in those markets, acting as collateral for trading positions and providing liquidity for decentralized finance protocols.

USDC growth

The integration arrives as USDC continues to expand its presence across the stablecoin sector. The token’s supply is nearing $80 billion, up more than 42% year-over-year from roughly $55 billion a year ago. The total stablecoin market is currently valued at around $300 billion.

Recent research from Mizuho suggests USDC may also be gaining ground in real-world usage. The firm said last week that USDC accounted for about 64% of "adjusted" stablecoin transfer volume year-to-date, overtaking Tether’s USDT in that metric after years of trailing the market leader. The analysts define adjusted volume as transfers that appear to reflect actual economic activity, such as companies paying suppliers, funds moving between exchanges and DeFi protocols, or users placing bets on prediction markets, rather than high-frequency trading flows.

Despite this, USDT remains the largest stablecoin globally with a market capitalization of roughly $184 billion, according to The Block's data dashboard.