Predictions market platform Polymarket plans to launch a 1:1 USDC-backed crypto collateral token, the company said Monday. The company made an announcement on X detailing several new protocol upgrades and updates. One of the updates was the firm migrating from USDC.e to a new Collateral Token (Polymarket USD), backed 1:1 by the Circle stablecoin.
Polymarket noted the upgrade is its “biggest infrastructure change since launch,” and will include a trading engine overhaul. “For most users, this transition is seamless,” Polymarket devs shared. “The frontend handles wrapping automatically with a one-time approval prompt. Power users and API-only traders will need to wrap their USDC or USDC.e into Polymarket USD via the Collateral Onramp contract’s wrap() function.”
Additionally, Polymarket is rolling out an upgraded Polymarket CTF Exchange V2, the overarching smart contract that manages its on-chain operations. With V2, Polymarket’s faster and more efficient matching engine will require fewer operations to validate and pair orders, as well as lower gas consumption. Similarly, the platform’s order Struct — the data structure used to define orders — will pare down the number of required fields.
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The predictions platform has rolled out several strong updates since its return to the US late last year. From partnering with the Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal to launching a free grocery store in New York City, Polymarket has been on an upward trajectory.
The team noted that developers building bots or custom integrations with the CLOB will have to “update your SDK and re-sign orders with the new struct,” though most Polymarket users will only be impacted during the actual migration. “During the upgrade, all existing order books will be cleared. There will be a short maintenance window. We’ll announce the exact date and time at least one week in advance,” Polymarket said.
Circle (CRCL) stock also responded well to Polymarket’s update, with shares climbing 2% on Monday and still up 16% YTD despite a tough March.