How to Identify Whether a Stablecoin is an Official Native Asset

Recently, some users have discovered that the USDT and USDC circulating on certain blockchains are not directly issued by the official source, but are provided by third-party cross-chain bridges. This has raised concerns about the security of crypto assets. This article will explore how to determine whether the stablecoins on each chain are official native assets, as well as how to identify the supporting source of non-native assets.

Official Support Chains for USDC

According to official information, USDC is currently natively issued on 8 blockchains: Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Tron, Algorand, Stellar, Flow, and Hedera. USDC on other chains are all bridged assets.

It is worth noting that although USDC on Polygon has received official support from Circle, allowing direct deposits and withdrawals, it is still classified as a bridged asset rather than a native asset. However, Circle's official support reflects a certain level of recognition for its security.

Native Support Chain of USDT

The transparency page of the official USDT website lists all the natively supported blockchains. Notably, the Omni protocol is mentioned, which is the platform where USDT was originally issued and is also considered a precursor to the recently popular BRC20 tokens.

The Support Source of Non-Native Assets

For non-native assets, we can query their supporting sources through some data platforms. For example, on the stablecoin page of a certain data platform, you can see the bridging methods of USDC on various chains.

If relevant information cannot be found on mainstream data platforms, further inquiries can be made through search engines or blockchain explorers. For example, the block explorer of a certain chain clearly indicates the supporting party of USDC on that chain.

Stablecoins on Layer 2 Networks (L2)

It is worth noting that most stablecoins on mainstream L2 networks are not native assets. However, due to the unique technical architecture of L2, these bridged assets may be somewhat safer compared to general cross-chain assets. Users can understand the security status of various L2 networks through specialized risk assessment tools.

Conclusion

When using cryptocurrencies, it is very important to understand the issuance of assets and the cross-chain situation. To ensure the safety of funds, it is recommended to hold native stablecoin assets on mainstream blockchains as much as possible. Otherwise, you may face the risk of "not your keys, not your coins," and worse, your assets may be issued and managed by unreliable third-party cross-chain bridges.