The upcoming Ethereum Merge event will see the Ethereum blockchain migrate from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus on September 15, 2022 (estimated). As we shared last month, Circle will fully and solely support USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC) on the PoS chain post merge.
Circle had the opportunity to observe The Merge on Goerli Ethereum testnet, and we have used that experience to monitor our infrastructure’s response. We are pleased to report that the process was very smooth.
Leading up to, during, and after The Merge, we do not anticipate any disruption to on-chain USDC and EURC activity. We expect that the migration to PoS will be seamless.
Circle will conduct a brief maintenance period just before and after The Merge so that we can monitor the upgrade. We will temporarily pause deposits and withdrawals of Ethereum assets to and from Circle Mint accounts for approximately two hours before The Merge starts and for another two hours once it is finished. This includes EURC and USDC on Ethereum, as well as all ETH/ERC-20 deposits and withdrawals. The Merge itself is expected to take a matter of minutes.
Our goal is to make The Merge as frictionless, secure and safe as possible for our customers. While The Merge is not expected to require this additional maintenance period, we believe that taking this precautionary measure during this significant event best ensures the stability of our services.
Issuance and redemption of USDC will continue to function through the non-Ethereum chains that Circle supports. Meanwhile, because EURC is currently exclusively on Ethereum, issuance and redemption will be temporarily affected by the maintenance window.
Circle customers will be notified via email and on social media about when the maintenance will begin and end. There is no action required by Circle Mint customers, or USDC or EURC users and holders.
To summarize, Circle Mint account activities affected during the maintenance window:
Circle Mint activities not impacted during the maintenance window:
To stay up-to-date with the maintenance window:
It is essential to always be vigilant for scams, especially leading up to The Merge. We encourage people to watch out for scammers who suggest you need to upgrade or transfer to a new token.
We're extremely excited about this significant milestone in Ethereum's growth and scaling roadmap, and look forward to USDC and EURC's continued stability and success post-merge.
If you are a Circle customer and have additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact your account executive or email us at customer-support@circle.com.