Circle has officially launched USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin, on the Cardano blockchain through its xReserve infrastructure. This integration, announced on February 27, 2026, connects Cardano to Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), providing developers and users with a dollar-denominated stablecoin that unlocks seamless access to cross-chain USDC liquidity.
USDCx is issued via a decentralized protocol and is fully backed 1:1 by USDC held in the non-custodial Circle xReserve smart contract. The infrastructure operates without relying on third-party bridges, using Circle Gateway and CCTP to enable interoperability with USDC across all supported blockchains. This allows users to deposit USDC directly from supported centralized exchanges into Cardano wallets, bypassing Ethereum or other networks.
The launch is supported by key Cardano DeFi applications including Liqwid, Minswap, and SundaeSwap, enabling swapping, trading, lending, borrowing, liquidity provision, and staking. Developers can leverage USDCx for DeFi lending with stable liquidity, more efficient trading pairs on Cardano DEXs, cross-border payments, and real-world asset (RWA) settlement for tokenized real estate and credit products.
To foster initial adoption, the Input Output Group (IOG) will subsidize bridge fees for transferring USDCx to Cardano for the first 10 days following launch. Users remain responsible for network and DEX fees. The development was led by the community-funded Critical Integrations program in collaboration with Pentad and Midgard Labs.
Despite this significant technical integration, Cardano's native token ADA was trading at $0.2775 at press time, down 2.87% on the day and 91% below its all-time high of $3.09 from September 2021. Market analysts attribute the lack of immediate positive price action to broader bearish sentiment, though ADA has seen notable institutional interest with Grayscale's involvement and a nearly 30% surge in futures open interest this month.
