Launching Fast USDC: Accelerating Cross-Chain USDC Transfers on Agoric
We’re excited to announce Fast USDC, a groundbreaking solution that dramatically improves the speed of USDC transfers from EVM chains into the Cosmos ecosystem. This innovative product showcases Agoric’s unique orchestration capabilities while solving a critical challenge in cross-chain transfers.
Community Vote: Fast USDC Smart Contract Deployment
The Agoric community will be voting on the deployment of the Fast USDC smart contract. This represents the second of the two planned deployment phases. The earlier beta release allowed us to demonstrate and validate the core functionality of Fast USDC in a controlled environment, including the contract’s ability to manage confirmations from source chains, handle liquidity provider funds, and orchestrate rapid USDC transfers to destination accounts. The contract includes sophisticated pool management features that enable liquidity providers to deposit funds, receive proportional share tokens (FastLP), and earn fees from facilitating faster transfers. This system uses a transparent share-based accounting model where all fees and rewards are automatically calculated and distributed based on each provider’s stake in the pool.
The Challenge We’re Solving
When users transfer USDC from Ethereum and other EVM chains into Cosmos chains using Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), they currently face waiting times of 16+ minutes due to the underlying blockchain finality requirements. This delay creates a significant friction point, especially during critical moments like taking advantage of DeFi opportunities or funding trading accounts.
Fast USDC: The Solution
Fast USDC revolutionizes this process by providing near-instant USDC transfers through a secure and automated underwriting system. Here’s how it works:
- Users initiate a USDC CCTP transfer through Noble’s Express UI
- Fast USDC detects the transfer and verifies initial confirmations
- The system advances USDC to the user’s destination address within < 2 minutes
- The original CCTP transfer completes in the background and refunds the advance
The result? What previously took 16+ minutes now happens in under 2 minutes, creating a seamless user experience without compromising security.
Key Benefits
- Speed: Reduce waiting times from 16+ minutes to < 2 minutes
- Seamless Integration: Works directly through Noble Express UI
- Wide Ecosystem Support: Available for transfers to 31+ Cosmos chains, including Osmosis, dYdX, Sei, and more
- Security First: Built with robust safety mechanisms and collateral backing
- Cost-Effective: Minimal fees for the acceleration service
Fee Structure and Risk Parameters
The Fast USDC protocol has been carefully designed with a transparent fee structure and robust risk parameters to ensure the system remains sustainable, secure, and beneficial for all participants.
Fee Configuration
- Flat Fee: A base fee of 0.01 USDC applied to every accelerated transfer, regardless of the transaction size
- Variable Rate: An additional 0.1% fee calculated based on the transfer amount
- Fee Distribution:
- Contract Rate: 20% of all fees are allocated to the contract
- Pool Rate: 80% of all fees are allocated to the liquidity pool, increasing the available liquidity, and thereby increasing the amount of USDC received when redeeming FastLP tokens
Risk Management Parameters
The key risk that the contract manages is “reorg risk” of the source EVM chains. If a Fast USDC transaction is detected and an advance is made for it, a source chain reorg could happen that does not include the transaction. In that case, the liquidity pool will never get reimbursed for its advance, and therefore will go down. Fast USDC employs chain-specific risk management policies:
Key Risk Controls
- Per-Transaction Limit: Individual transactions are capped at 20,000 USDC
- Confirmation Requirements: Each chain has chain-specific confirmation requirements, initially set conservatively
- Block Window Monitoring: The system employs a rolling block window approach to track and limit total exposure
- Maximum Block Window Exposure: Total amount across the monitored block window is limited to 50,000 USDC
The configuration balances between accessibility (keeping fees reasonable for users), sustainability (ensuring the system generates sufficient fees to incentivize liquidity provision), and security (implementing appropriate risk controls to protect the protocol).
All parameters can be adjusted through governance to respond to changing network conditions or community needs.
Why This Matters for Agoric
Fast USDC represents a significant milestone for the Agoric ecosystem:
- Technological Leadership: Demonstrates Agoric’s advanced orchestration capabilities in handling complex cross-chain transactions
- Strategic Partnerships: Strengthens our relationship with Noble and the broader Cosmos ecosystem
- Real-World Utility: Solves a tangible problem that affects users daily
- Ecosystem Growth: Drives more activity and assets to the Agoric chain
Technical Components
- Fast USDC Contract: Core smart contract managing advances and settlements
- Off-Chain Watcher: Monitors and validates transaction confirmations - not part of deployment
- LP Pool Management: Handles liquidity provider funds
- Noble Express Integration: Provides seamless frontend experience
The system is launching initially with support for transfers from Ethereum L1 and some EVM chains including Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism.
Earning Yield with Fast USDC
Fast USDC introduces an innovative liquidity pool system that allows participants to earn fees by providing USDC liquidity. Here is how it works:
- As a liquidity provider, you can deposit USDC into the Fast USDC pool to earn fees from users who want faster transfers. Think of it like providing a service: users pay a small fee to get their USDC transfers completed quickly, and you earn a share of these fees by making your USDC available to facilitate these fast transfers.
Looking Forward
Fast USDC is just the beginning. The underlying technology showcases how Agoric’s smart contract system can create powerful, user-centric solutions.
The initial release will support transfers from Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, with plans to expand to additional chains based on community needs.
Get Involved
Fast USDC will be launching soon on Noble Express. We invite the community to:
- Try the service when it launches
- Provide feedback on your experience
- Suggest additional features or chain support
Stay tuned for our technical documentation and integration guides, which will help developers understand how they can leverage this technology for their own applications.