Circle launches USDCx on Aleo – Is privacy the next $1.22T unlock?

As stablecoin use case matures, analysts believe the next unlock, especially for institutions, could be privacy-focused transfers. 

And Circle is betting big on this.

The world’s second-largest stablecoin issuer unveiled USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin for the privacy-first blockchain platform Aleo. It added, 

“With USDCx on Aleo, businesses and users unlock privacy-preserving payments, interoperable onchain dollars, and confidential multi-party workflows.”

New payment-focused blockchains have doubled down on “selective disclosure” features to enable private transfers and meet regulatory requirements and auditors’ expectations when dealing with institutions.

From Coinbase-backed Base to Stripe’s Tempo, the new chains and protocols are betting big on privacy features. 

Reacting to the update, crypto payment platform Zebec Network said, 

“Privacy is a feature, not a tradeoff. USDCx on Aleo is a meaningful step toward confidential, compliant on-chain dollars.”

But why now, and how big is the market that privacy-focused transfers are trying to support? 

Public vs private stablecoin growth

According to the Aleo report, institutional stablecoin transfers totaled $1.22 trillion over the past 24 months. This translates to $50.8 billion per month.  

“Private settlement is still a small slice in that context, with $624.4M in measured stablecoin edge flows over the same period, including $593.4M attributable to Railgun and $120.5k to Oxbow’s early privacy pools activity.”

Source: Aleo 

For Aleo, this meant “slow privacy adoption” at the moment for institutions, implying a massive upside potential due to several reasons. 

Drivers for privacy transfers

The fact that these transfers are public means constant monitoring and actionable intelligence for both competitors and adversaries. 

Perhaps, one of the most concerning trends is the kidnapping of crypto founders, investors, and influencers for perceived on-chain wealth.

Ledger’s Co-Founder, David Balland, was abducted and mutilated alongside his wife in France, underscoring the physical risk of crypto wealth. 

Additionally, the transparent transfers can also be used by bad actors to distort markets and narratives. 

For example, crypto market maker Wintermute has been in the news so many times for alleged market manipulation, just because its on-chain moves are publicly visible for anyone to track.

That said, early adoption of existing privacy-focused platforms like Ethereum-based EY Nightfall reinforces the potential. Aleo noted that the adoption has been 2-5%, underscoring growing demand for institutional privacy. 

Source: Aleo

Final Thoughts 

• Circle has rolled out a USDC-backed stablecoin, USDCx, on Aleo to drive privacy-focused transfers.
• According to Aleo, private stablecoin settlements accounted for less than 1% of overall institutional transfers.