Circle reveals majority of USDC reserves are in cash and cash equivalents

Circle revealed on Tuesday that the majority of the stablecoin USDC's reserves are held in cash or cash equivalents.

As per a breakdown of USDC reserves in an attestation report from mid-July, 61% of USDC is backed by cash and cash equivalents. The attestation report notes that "[c]ash includes deposits at banks and Government Obligation Money Market Funds. Cash Equivalents are defined as securities with an original maturity less than or equal to 90 days in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP)."

Thirteen percent of the reserves are in the form of Yankee CDs and a further 12% is in the form of US Treasuries. Commercial paper and corporate bonds comprise 9% and 5% of the reserve's allocations, respectively.

The attestation report was prepared by Grant Thornton.

In a blog post, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said that the new attestation is part of the firm's goal to become more transparent ahead of its previously reported SPAC to go public. 

"As we continue our journey to becoming a public company, we will have increasing opportunities for greater transparency, accountability and disclosure around our broader business and operations," Allaire said. "Altogether, this expanding public accountability can help to strengthen trust in Circle, USDC and companies building on the standards and market infrastructure that we have been delivering over the past several years."