USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle Announces Expansion into the “Tokenized Precious Metals” Market: Circle, through its new platform CircleMetals.com, launches services for direct USDC exchange to tokenized gold (GLDC) and tokenized silver (SILC).
(Background: US OCC greenlights! Five crypto giants including Ripple, BitGo, and Circle receive “conditional approval” for trust bank licenses)
(Additional background: Circle partners with Aleo to launch privacy stablecoin “USDCx,” with transaction records and wallet addresses fully hidden)

Table of Contents

• GLDC and SILC Focus on Instant Exchange and Precious Metal Exposure
• Liquidity Link to COMEX, Emphasizing Price Discovery Efficiency
• On-Chain Issuance and Settlement, Meeting Institutional and Developer Needs
• USDC Ecosystem Expansion, Commodity Assets as a New Direction

USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle Announces Expansion into the “Tokenized Precious Metals” Market: Circle, through its new platform CircleMetals.com, launches services for direct USDC exchange to tokenized gold (GLDC) and tokenized silver (SILC), allowing users to exchange between precious metals and stablecoins at real-time market prices.

This new service is seen as a significant step for Circle to further integrate traditional commodities markets with blockchain-native financial systems, also representing an extension of USDC’s application scope from digital dollar settlement to commodity-based assets.

GLDC and SILC Focus on Instant Exchange and Precious Metal Exposure

According to Circle, both GLDC and SILC support 24/7, real-time exchange mechanisms. Users can convert USDC into tokenized gold or silver at any time, and quickly redeem back to USDC at market prices, reducing the time and liquidity constraints of traditional commodity trading.

In terms of asset design, GLDC and SILC provide tokenized exposure to gold and silver prices, referencing established global precious metal benchmark markets, ensuring that token prices closely reflect physical market conditions.

Liquidity Link to COMEX, Emphasizing Price Discovery Efficiency

Circle states that the platform’s liquidity sources are modeled after and linked to the COMEX gold and silver markets, providing narrower bid-ask spreads and more efficient price discovery mechanisms. This design aims to closely mimic traditional commodity market trading depth and reduce the common liquidity fragmentation issues in crypto markets.

On-Chain Issuance and Settlement, Meeting Institutional and Developer Needs

GLDC and SILC are issued and settled on public blockchains, allowing direct integration with DeFi protocols, crypto wallets, and payment applications. Circle indicates that these products are not only aimed at general users but also specifically consider the needs of institutional traders, fintech platforms, and developers working on next-generation financial products.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasizes that the core idea of USDC is to provide “trustworthy, transparent digital cash,” and bringing gold and silver into the same blockchain financial framework helps to transfer traditional store-of-value assets into a programmable, globally real-time operational financial environment.

USDC Ecosystem Expansion, Commodity Assets as a New Direction

With the addition of tokenized precious metals, USDC is no longer limited to a settlement role for fiat-backed stablecoins but is gradually evolving into a digital financial settlement layer supporting diverse assets. Circle’s product team notes that tokenized commodities could play a larger role in corporate treasury management, cross-border settlements, and on-chain risk diversification scenarios.

Market consensus suggests that Circle’s move indicates that major stablecoin issuers are actively exploring the practical applications of “Real World Assets (RWA)” combined with blockchain, aiming to establish a more comprehensive digital asset landscape in terms of compliance and financial infrastructure.