What is USDC on Stellar?
USDC is a fully-reserved US-dollar stablecoin issued by Circle, and it runs natively on the Stellar network. On the Stellar DEX it's the most common quote asset — the dollar side of pairs like XLM/USDC — so understanding how it's issued and how to hold it is a good first step for anyone trading Stellar markets.
What is USDC on Stellar?
USDC is a regulated, fully-reserved stablecoin designed to hold a value of one US dollar. Circle issues it natively on several blockchains, and Stellar is one of them. Native issuance means USDC on Stellar isn't a wrapped or bridged copy — it's a first-class Stellar asset that settles on-ledger in roughly five seconds and trades directly on the Stellar DEX.
Because it's a stable dollar, USDC is the natural unit of account for Stellar markets, which is why most pairs are quoted against it.
Who issues it & the issuer address
Every Stellar asset other than native XLM is identified by an asset code plus the issuer account that created it. USDC's code is USDC and its issuer on Stellar mainnet is Circle:
GA5ZSEJYB37JRC5AVCIA5MOP4RHTM335X2KGX3IHOJAPP5RE34K4KZVN
That issuer address is what makes a given USDC the "real" Circle USDC.
Why the issuer matters
On Stellar, an asset is the combination of its code and its issuer. Two tokens can both be called USDC but be completely different assets if their issuers differ — and they trade in separate markets. So when you read a price, you're really reading the price of that issuer's asset. This is exactly why Chartui shows the issuer alongside every pair, and why holding any asset first requires a trustline to the specific issuer.
Adding a USDC trustline
To hold or trade USDC, your Stellar account opts in by adding a trustline to Circle's USDC issuer. This is a one-time, on-ledger step (most Stellar wallets do it for you when you add the asset) and it reserves a small amount of XLM while the trustline is open. Once the trustline exists, you can receive, hold and trade USDC. See Stellar trustlines explained for the details.
Where USDC trades
On the Stellar DEX, USDC is the counter (quote) asset for a wide range of markets — XLM/USDC being the flagship — and it's also a common asset in liquidity pools. That means USDC liquidity shows up in both the order book and the AMM pools for a pair.
USDC vs. other stablecoins on Stellar
USDC isn't the only dollar stablecoin on Stellar. PayPal's PYUSD is also live (issued by Paxos), and there are euro stablecoins like EURC. They work the same way mechanically — a code plus an issuer, held via a trustline — but differ in issuer, regulation and where liquidity is deepest. USDC has been on Stellar the longest and is the most widely quoted, which is why it's the default counter asset for most pairs; newer entrants like PYUSD are growing their own markets. When you compare them, the thing to check is always the issuer behind the code, since that's what defines the asset.
See live USDC markets on Chartui
Chartui streams live USDC markets straight from the Stellar ledger: price charts, the order book and trade flow, and pool reserves and TVL — with the Circle issuer surfaced so you always know you're looking at the right asset.