A stablecoin makes sending the U.S. dollar as easy and secure as an email, Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) president Heath Tarbert gave a rather simple definition of the much talked about, new-age currency.
Speaking in an interview with TheStreet Roundtable's publisher and RTB Digital CEO James Heckman, Tarbert expanded on the stablecoin technology, Circle's infrastructure, and the safety concerns surrounding this fintech revolution.
Circle is a prominent crypto firm which is well-known for USDC , the second-largest stablecoin. Unlike traditionally volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, a stablecoin — as its name suggests — tries to keep its value stable by being backed by a fiat currency or a commodity.
"Some people have said it stands for U.S. dollar coin. But technically, it's just USDC. It's a tokenized version of the dollar. It's a digital dollar."
Tarbert expanded how Web1 was about reading content, Web2 was about reading and writing content, and Web3 is about adding value to the internet and money is the most basic form of value.
For the best experience, download the Roundtable app from the App Store or Google Play Store and watch the full, uncut interview.
Related: Exclusive: Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino on CBDC threats
USDC — backed 1:1 — is unlike money people generally use
Heckman asked Tarbert to explain to the investing community whether USDC is backed by something real or it's fake like "monopoly money."
Tarbert said that though USDC is a digital representation of the USD, it needs to be trusted by people before they can use it.
"And I would argue it's one of the most conservative forms of money."
As far as USDC is concerned, it is issued by a U.S. regulated company called Circle which is based and headquartered in New York, he added. Each USDC is backed 1:1 by "high-quality liquid" assets like cash and Treasury bills.
For the best experience, download the Roundtable app from the App Store or Google Play Store and watch the full, uncut interview.
Tarbert drew the distinction between USDC and the money people generally use. The vast majority of people don't use Federal Reserve money but money from the banking system.
"And that's not backed one for one."
Related: What is tokenization? Explained
This kind of money from the banking system is largely lent out, he underlined. It is so because of the prevalent fractional reserve banking system in which banks hold only a portion of customer deposits as reserves and lend out the rest.
USDC, in contrast, is backed 1:1 to the USD, Tarbert reiterated. It means that one can redeem 1 USDC for 1 U.S. dollar.
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Safety of smart contract crucial for secure USDC transfers
Heckman jumped in to add that though USDC won't slide to zero, is backed 1:1, and gives you control of your money unlike the traditional banking system, he wants to be secure in the knowledge that it's safe to use.
"But what about safety?"
He asked if someone can break into your "email" and steal your stablecoin when it is being sent to, say, a car seller.
Tarbert reassured that USDC is a currency built on a blockchain which runs on a smart contract.
Related: What is blockchain? Explained
In simple words, a smart contract is a self-executing program on a blockchain with rules directly written into code. The goal is to remove the requirement of centralized, human intermediaries and run a network automatically based on pre-decided rules.
For the best experience, download the Roundtable app from the App Store or Google Play Store and watch the full, uncut interview.
Circle puts in a lot of effort into making its smart contract secure so that it can't be hacked and USDC is backed by Circle's reserves of around $75 billion, added Tarbert.
If you are sending USDC on a blockchain like Ethereum , then it's immutable and reliable, he reassured. Circle currently runs on 27 native blockchains and you can send USDC over all these networks, he added.
Tarbert also shed light on Circle's cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP) which allows a user to send a USDC from Ethereum to Solana as easily as an email.
The company's goal is to make USDC the most easy-to-use digital dollar, Tarbert proclaimed.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
