USDC Announces Full Post-Merge Support For Ethereum POS Chain

Circle, the blockchain startup behind USDC, has stated its full support for the impending Ethereum Merge. The corporation stated that it is looking forward to the network’s lower energy consumption profile. The USDC’s support for The Merge comes ahead of the much-anticipated event in September 2018. Circle stated that it will fully and entirely support the Ethereum proof of stake (PoS) chain following the merger.

Help With ETH Merge

Earlier this week, the Ethereum network gained a powerful endorsement in the form of Chainlink support. Following the integration, the crypto business stated that it will only support the Proof of Stake consensus layer. It has stated that it will not support ETH hard forks. Circle stated in a statement about USDC Ethereum Merge support,

“As Ethereum approaches “The Merge” event, we are excited about the future scaling opportunities it unlocks as well as the reduced energy consumption profile of the network. USDC is the largest dollar-backed stablecoin issued on Ethereum and, as the issuer of USDC, Circle intends to fully and solely support the Ethereum proof of stake (PoS) chain post-merge.”

Obstacles Before the Merge

The forthcoming Merge will see miners in the Proof of Work system replaced by validators in the Proof of Stake scheme. Experts feel there could be serious concerns if a few hard forks of Ethereum occur after the merger. They also predict that if the mainnet merge has difficulties, the ETH network would come to a halt. Furthermore, the future of Ethereum miners is uncertain following Merge, with the option of switching to Ethereum Classic.

Meanwhile, the price of ETH skyrocketed in the last month, most likely in anticipation of The Merge. There was a 50% increase from trading below $1,200 to a recent high of little over $1,800. According to CoinMarketCap, the price of Ethereum is currently $1,687.34, down 4.94% in the previous 24 hours. However, the price is still higher than last week’s level, with a 3.63% relative increase.