CCTP V2: The future of cross-chain

Key takeaways

• With Fast Transfer, CCTP V2 reduces cross-chain USDC transfer times from minutes to seconds from Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks anchored to Ethereum consensus.
• CCTP V2 Fast Transfer Allowance enables message attestation before source chain finalization—accelerating USDC transfers, optimizing collateral use, and supporting transfers across multiple chains simultaneously.
• CCTP V2 Hooks enable atomic execution of arbitrary actions with USDC cross-chain transfers, without added trust assumptions.
• Read the CCTP V2 White Paper to learn more about the motivation behind CCTP V2 and the system architecture.

‍

The future of cross-chain crypto capital markets will never be the same. We’re excited to launch CCTP V2, enabling frictionless and secure USDC transfers between blockchains with faster-than-finality settlement and enhanced smart contract composability.

Since the introduction of Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (now known as CCTP V1) in April 2023, the permissionless product has processed over 2 million USDC transfers equating to more than $37 billion in transaction volume. Despite the resounding success of CCTP V1, developers and their end users have increasingly requested faster cross-chain transfer times as CCTP V1 is constrained by the source chain block finality times, which can be ~15 minutes from Ethereum and its Layer 2 (L2) blockchains.

Since Circle cannot speed up block finality, how can we enable cross-chain USDC transfers at faster-than-finality speeds with native burning and minting? Read the CCTP V2 White Paper to learn more.

With a new set of smart contracts and APIs, CCTP V2 builds on the proven infrastructure and features of CCTP V1, while introducing two all-new features, Fast Transfer and Hooks. CCTP V2’s Fast Transfer enables cross-chain transactions to settle in seconds, regardless of the source blockchain, while Hooks allow developers to automate post-transfer actions on the destination blockchain with deeper smart contract integrations. CCTP V2 also retains support for the existing cross-chain USDC transfer speeds offered by CCTP V1, known as Standard Transfer, which settles transactions according to a blockchain’s standard finality time.

See how V2 improves speed, efficiency, and composability over V1.

‍

“Traditional cross-chain flows are often riddled with additional trust assumptions, block-finality delays, and liquidity fragmentation,” said Jonathan Lim, Principal Product Manager at Circle. “CCTP V2 mitigates these issues, and paves the way for improved cross-chain USDC liquidity, enhanced cross-chain UX, and institutional-grade cross-chain infrastructure for crypto capital markets.”

CCTP V2 is now available for developers on Avalanche, Base, and Ethereum with more blockchains expected throughout this year. CCTP V1 will remain available on 11 blockchains.

We are excited about the cross-chain experiences that developers can build with USDC, whether directly connecting to CCTP V2 or indirectly leveraging one of our integration partners. Leading apps, bridges, and infrastructure providers that have already integrated CCTP V2 include: CCTP.Money, Interport, LI.FI, Mayan, Socket, and Wormhole with more integrations expected in the coming weeks.

‍

Build with us

Visit the Circle Docs to get started with CCTP V2.