Stablecoin USDC Issuer Circle Launches Verit-based Institutional Digital Identity System

On October 1, Circle, the US dollar stablecoin USDC issuer, announced the launch of an institutional digital identity system based on Verit, an open source framework for the issuance, custody, and verification of decentralized identity credentials.

Institutions with Circle accounts and MetaMask institutional wallets can apply for KYB (Know Your Business) credentials, enabling web and mobile applications and smart contracts to verify user permissions (including usage rights, time, location, etc.) for licensing on-chain activity.

Circle said eligible businesses will have direct control over how, when, and where their identity attributes are shared, and will not send or store any personally identifiable data on-chain.

Circle has partnered with TrueFi to support Verite KYB credentials to access TrueFi’s permission lending platform, which enables institutions to transact with authenticated counterparties they can trust.

USDT is one of the leading stablecoins with a market capitalization of $67.95 billion at the time of writing, and USDC comes second with a value of $47.25 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Last month, the USDC issuer announced it plans to expand USDC to five blockchains including Arbitrum, COSMOS, NEAR, Optimism, and Polkadot and will launch a new cross-chain transmission protocol. A subsidiary of digital payments company Block announced a partnership with Circle to provide USDC cross-border transfers and savings services to global investors.

FV Bank, a global digital bank, partnered with Circle to enable instant and automatic USD Coin (USDC) conversion into USD upon deposit last month.

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