Stablecoin issuer Circle has introduced a major upgrade, v2.2, for its stablecoins, USDC and EURC, aiming to reduce gas costs and enhance security on EVM blockchains.
Starting today, Circle will begin a phased rollout of the v2.2 upgrade to USDC and EURC on the testnet and mainnet. They plan to complete rollout for each supported blockchain in the next few months.
The upgrade introduces six key changes, including enabling signature validation from smart contract wallets through EIP-1271. This supports account abstraction, allowing smart contract wallets to facilitate transactions, and enabling users to pay gas fees in USDC and EURC.
Efficiency improvements include optimizing the blocklist check, resulting in a 6-7% gas cost reduction for common operations. The upgrade enhances resilience against forks by dynamically inferring chainID to prevent unauthorized transactions on forks.
Blocklist checks are removed from non-fund-moving functions, saving 7.34% gas for approval and 3.5% for increase/decrease allowance.
Additionally, the upgrade skips timestamp checks for ERC-4337 compliance in certain cases, ensuring compatibility with account abstraction. Lastly, a one-time rename for the EURC token symbol from “EUROC” to “EURC” aligns with naming improvements.
Circle’s v2.2 upgrade for USDC and EURC reflects a strategic move towards cost efficiency, enhanced security, and improved user experience in the evolving landscape of EVM blockchains.
Circle plans to bring v2.2 to USDC and EURC on Sepolia testnet for supported EVM blockchains starting in January 2024.
Also Read: USDC Issuer Circle Considering Going Public via IPO in 2024
