Stablecoins have become rather frequently discussed in the news and social media over the past few weeks, especially with the news of the release of the Facebook-backed Libra coin. The current wave of stablecoin issuance could be attributed to the lack of liquidity in the cryptocurrency world. But even though the crypto market is now slowly recovering from a long bear trend, the ecosystem of stablecoins continues to expand even further.
One of the most notable events in the stablecoin space was a recent announcement by Circle and Coinbase. After launching its own digital dollar — called USD Coin (USDC) — in September 2018, Circle (a Goldman Sachs-backed crypto startup) is now opening its doors to other institutions interested in issuing USD Coin. Circle partnered with crypto exchange and wallet company Coinbase to launch a consortium called Centre that will support and develop USD Coin.