PANews reported on August 14th that Coinbase has reached a strategic partnership with crypto payment infrastructure platform Mercuryo, which will provide MetaMask wallet users using the USDC stablecoin with lower fees for transferring funds to the Base network. Mercuryo anticipates a reduction of approximately 50% in these fees.

This move comes as the US passes the GENIUS Act, furthering stablecoin regulation and highlighting financial institutions' interest in integrating fiat-pegged tokens. Meanwhile, Circle, the issuer of USDC, announced plans to build a native Layer 1 stablecoin network using USDC as its gas token. As the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDC saw a 90% year-over-year increase in circulation, reaching $61.3 billion, according to Circle's latest financial report. Coinbase also recently signed an agreement with JPMorgan Chase to support credit card points conversion into USDC, among other innovative initiatives.