Choosing Between Circle Gateway and CCTP with Forwarding Service for Crosschain USDC

Circle Internet Financial explores the challenges and solutions for unlocking sub-second cross-chain USDC liquidity in a fragmented multichain ecosystem, where Ethereum, Solana, and Layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum, Base, and Polygon each have unique strengths. The text details the use of Circle's two liquidity primitives: Circle Gateway, which offers instant, aggregated liquidity by treating USDC as a unified global asset, and the CCTP with Circle Forwarding Service, which facilitates automated cross-chain settlement with a focus on capital efficiency and user simplicity. The choice between these options depends on desired transaction latency, capital efficiency, user onboarding processes, and implementation models, with Gateway offering sub-second speed through a backend-centric approach, and the Forwarding Service providing ease of use with a push-based model. The document illustrates real-world applications for these technologies, such as programmable FX and cross-border settlement, supply chain finance, and corporate treasury rebalancing, highlighting how these solutions can address the liquidity fragmentation hindering institutional adoption of onchain finance.