USDC (USD Coin)
Hacker ApprovedStablecoin in Money & business
Dollar-pegged crypto token people use for cheap, fast, global transfers and to hold dollars. Critics note exchange conversion fees and that issuers can freeze funds.
Dollar-pegged crypto token people use for cheap, fast, global transfers and to hold dollars. Critics note exchange conversion fees and that issuers can freeze funds.
27 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Regulated, fully reserved, stable dollar value
“USDC and OUSD (eg.) are collateralized under the regulation of the OCC”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Open USD” “These are audited and regulated by the federal government!”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Open USD” “regulated, fully reserved, and designed to stay at $1”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Open-source Stripe Connect alternative” - Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Pocketbase lost its funding from FLOSS fund”
- Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Crypto in 2026: Oh, This Is the Bad Place”
Cheaper, faster, global, 24/7 transfers
“they are cheaper, faster, global, 24/7, and remove unnecessary friction”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Open USD” “I still use USDT/USDC transfers when it's cheaper.”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “The $6.3B Binance hack was pulled off in just 20 minutes” “sending USDC actually moves the money for real, albeit, not totally free”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “The $6.3B Binance hack was pulled off in just 20 minutes” Widely used, reliable infrastructure
“blockchains that use USDC continue to run without any serious outages for years”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Revolut down as users report app not working” “USDC is used by hundreds of companies after it was tried and tested for years”
Comment from 16 May 2026 in “The Wonders of AI: We Are Retiring Our Bug Bounty Program” “USDC is the most popular stablecoin on Solana.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Why HN is a decade behind on crypto”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Exchange fees eat savings
“I had to pay 80 cents to an exchange to convert my usdc polygon to btc”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “I wasted years of my life in crypto” “The exchange fees end up eating any savings you got from not using the normie SWIFT network”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Y Combinator will let founders receive funds in stablecoins” “sending USDC actually moves the money for real, albeit, not totally free”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “The $6.3B Binance hack was pulled off in just 20 minutes” Centralized, issuer can freeze
“There is nothing permissionless or decentralized about them.”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Crypto in 2026: Oh, This Is the Bad Place” “both can be frozen by their respective issuer”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Crypto in 2026: Oh, This Is the Bad Place”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDC (USD Coin)This page | 21 | 6 | 78% | 7 | — | Approved |
| USDT (Tether) | 7 | 20 | 26% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
31 of the 34 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“People in countries with crazy inflation can use usdc wallets to avoid the inflation.”
“sending USDC actually moves the money for real, albeit, not totally free”
“I still use USDT/USDC transfers when it's cheaper.”
“crypto payments with USDC which is useful for both humans and agents”
“blockchains that use USDC continue to run without any serious outages for years”
“USDC is heavily pushed by the major institutional players”
“yeah USDC seems more legitimate but banking risk I wonder if it changed since the silicon valley bank situation”
“regulated, fully reserved, and designed to stay at $1”
“These are audited and regulated by the federal government!”
“unaudited, risky and pointless coins”
“USDC and OUSD (eg.) are collateralized under the regulation of the OCC”
“they are cheaper, faster, global, 24/7, and remove unnecessary friction”
“They also run on infrastructure that exists beyond any single jurisdiction and spans countries and continents.”
“I try to be as free software as possible so USDC is my go to alternative to Venmo/Apple Pay.”
“both can be frozen by their respective issuer”
“There is nothing permissionless or decentralized about them.”
“USDC and USDT do seem to actually be stable”
“It's actually riskier in every meaningful way, and I already have access to every form of investment I could want.”
“USDC is used by hundreds of companies after it was tried and tested for years”
“All the other ones: USDC, USDT, EURC and the ruble one can be whipped out easily.”
“USDC is one of the few real uses that crypto has”
“there are options that are stable and regulated”
“USDC is the most popular stablecoin on Solana.”
“USDC/EUR rates are pretty good and are only gonna get better.”
“Just use a stablecoin, don't float a "utility token" those things are stupid.”
“The exchange fees end up eating any savings you got from not using the normie SWIFT network”
“transferring USDC or another GENIUS-compliant stablecoin on Solana”
“Legit business tends to be done in USDC (Circle).”
“A centralized token (like USDC) being held in a trustless wallet is much much better and more useful than the traditional financial system.”
“I think stablecoins are genuinely really nice”
“I had to pay 80 cents to an exchange to convert my usdc polygon to btc”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.