Native USDC has arrived in Starknet: the network takes a step into 'big finance'
Starknet has received one of the most important infrastructure upgrades: native USDC from Circle has been launched on the mainnet along with the new cross-chain transfer protocol CCTP V2. This is a moment that separates experimental L2s from networks ready for real financial flows.
For a long time, Starknet users worked only with USDC.e — a classic wrapper where the asset is locked in one network and a copy is issued in another. This scheme always implies bridge risks and fragmented liquidity. Now this is becoming a thing of the past: CCTP transfers the network to a burn-and-mint model. USDC is burned in the original network and automatically minted in Starknet in the same volume. No bridge warehouses, no copies — only the real, native dollar on-chain.
The transition for users is clear and straightforward.
If you have USDC.e left, it can be converted through StarkGate 1:1.
If USDC is in another network, bridges supporting CCTP will burn it there and issue it already in Starknet.
DeFi applications will gradually transition the main stablecoin to the new format: USDC will become the standard, and USDC.e will be a historical transitional layer.
But it's not just about convenience. In terms of the volume of actual dollar transactions, USDC has long surpassed USDT: it handles corporate transfers, payments for Web3 companies, and institutional operations. This is the 'financial engine' of the on-chain economy. The elimination of wrappers and bridge risks strengthens the entire dollar framework on the blockchain.
Every new network that receives native USDC through CCTP makes crypto finance more reliable.
For Starknet, this is not just an update — it is a step towards full participation in the on-chain economy, where real money is flowing, not just speculative liquidity.
