Circle is building an open technology platform centered around USDC to achieve similar network effects and utility for financial services.

Written by: Circle

Translated by: Will Awang

We have seen enough cases in 2024 to establish consensus on the "killer app" status of stablecoins. Stripe even acquired the stablecoin service provider Bridge for a record acquisition amount in the industry. With the clear signals of regulation from the current U.S. government, 2025 is bound to be a big year for the stablecoin market. Multiple stablecoin issuers, various types of stablecoin issuance, and the continuous enrichment of stablecoin application scenarios will emerge one after another.

As a compliant stablecoin issuer of USDC, fintech company Circle is one of the most successful projects in the world today. As a Pre-IPO project, Circle follows the traditional capital market route, so how to narrate traditional finance and how to expand the application scenarios of traditional finance is something every stablecoin issuer and every project claiming to achieve Mass Adoption needs to learn from and reference.

• First Layer Narrative: Financial Upgrade of the Internet. Circle is building a value interconnection network based on stablecoins to provide a network upgrade for global finance, where blockchain brings the speed and scale of the internet to value transfer. Note that the story here is a continuation of "Internet +" rather than an expansion of "Blockchain +", as all current application layers are built on the internet.

• Second Layer Narrative: Upgrading the Interconnected Network through USDC. The USDC digital dollar is a tokenized version of fiat currency, loaded onto the internet, enabling individuals and businesses to transfer, consume, save, and store value with the same efficiency and scale as we transmit internet data today.

• Limited by financial infrastructure, the transmission of information and funds in today's world is separated. The blockchain-based Web3 value internet directly embeds value into the architecture of the traditional internet, allowing users to own their data and other technological assets (including currency) and facilitating value exchange. In this Web3 value internet, USDC is the dollar on the internet. USDC can leverage the innovations of blockchain networks to compensate for and strengthen the global banking financial system.

• Third Layer Narrative: Expanding Application Scenarios through Network Effects. The dollar and the internet itself possess strong network effects. In both the real world and online, the dollar is a currency with network effects. Blockchain technology endows USDC with more powerful functions and new application potential than traditional dollars, while relying on the traditional internet for implementation. Circle is building an open technology platform centered around USDC, fully utilizing the scale, speed, and cost advantages of the internet based on the dollar's current strength and widespread use to achieve similar network effects and utility for financial services.

The establishment of narratives and the expansion of rich application scenarios have contributed to the success of Circle's USDC. Therefore, we have compiled Circle's recent release of the 2025 State of the USDC Economy for mutual learning and reference.

The full text is 18,000 words; enjoy:

I. Executive Summary by Jeremy Allaire

The past year has marked significant progress for USDC in terms of economic growth and application maturity. Globally, as more individuals and businesses experience the power of digital dollars on blockchain networks, this trend shows strong momentum. Developers are continuously discovering ways to utilize USDC and Circle's technology to build application platforms, making global commerce and finance more efficient, faster, and inclusive.

Let's look at the specific data for USDC in 2024:

• The circulating USDC throughout 2024 has grown by over 78% year-on-year, faster than any other major stablecoin. Meanwhile, in November 2024 alone, the monthly transaction volume reached $1 trillion, with historical transaction volume exceeding $18 trillion.

• The USDC user base is also strong and becoming mainstream. By expanding partnerships with leading digital asset exchanges, banks, and wallets, USDC is now available for use by over 500 million end-user wallet products, supporting a range of use cases from digital capital market activities to dollar value storage, as well as the growing wave of global payment applications.

USDC is a dollar-backed stablecoin, and in addition to its outstanding position in trade, payments, and global finance, three factors are expected to accelerate the adoption and utility of USDC. This is akin to how the history of technology evolved from dial-up internet and immature browsers to broadband and mobile networks, subsequently bringing all of the world's knowledge and sellable goods to the fingertips of billions.

• Legal and Regulatory Clarity. Around the world, emerging stablecoin regulations are establishing robust compliance standards to protect consumers and pave the way for broader institutional integration, which aligns with Circle's operating model. There are strong indications that the U.S. will soon follow suit and play a significant role in coordinating these rules globally. This trend of regulatory clarity will instill greater confidence in USDC among households, businesses, and financial institutions.

• Scalability of Blockchain Networks. Meanwhile, blockchain infrastructure is rapidly improving, becoming faster, more secure, and more flexible. Developers are simplifying user experiences and pushing complexity to the background so that technology "just works," solving significant scalability issues. Blockchains that have addressed these challenges can now facilitate USDC payments globally at a cost of just a few cents.

• Excellent User Experience. The number of connections between USDC and traditional finance is surging. Circle's continuously expanding global banking network has increased direct access to USDC for many financial centers worldwide. The growing number of partnerships can unlock more traditional payment use cases, including global payroll payments, vendor payments, cross-border remittances, merchant payments, and more.

Based on these factors, along with the open network of the value internet and ultra-high throughput, Circle's stablecoin network can achieve near-instantaneous global value distribution. This is similar to the example of storing and moving video: in 2002, transmitting video files was cumbersome. Twenty years later, people watch over a billion hours of video daily.

The growth of the USDC economy reflects a broader trend of financial openness, where technological advancements and the proliferation of APIs are driving a future where instant, low-cost payments become the expectation. Recent research confirms this, with 65% of payment industry executives recognizing the need to expand instant payment infrastructure. However, the development of traditional payments has lagged behind. USDC is poised to help the rapidly evolving payment landscape fully realize its potential, especially in emerging markets that are quickly transitioning from cash to non-cash payments.

Circle possesses internet-scale, enterprise-grade quality, and regulatory compliance, which is not just a wise business strategy but a necessary requirement to become a prosperous platform. Over a decade ago, Circle committed to building a company that leverages the best features of blockchain—high speed, low cost, inclusive coverage, and programmability—to rebuild global value exchange from the ground up using internet infrastructure. As this report demonstrates, Circle is fulfilling its mission to enhance global economic prosperity through frictionless value exchange.

Circle is more optimistic about the future than ever before—not just for Circle, but for everyone in the entire USDC ecosystem. Jeremy Allaire, Circle Co-founder & CEO

II. About Circle and USDC

2.1 Circle Stablecoin Network

Global interest in USDC is growing from the bottom up, with more and more businesses and individuals recognizing that stablecoins and blockchain networks can solve long-standing issues in global payments. These issues primarily stem from the outdated payment rails that current business activities still rely on. SWIFT and ACH—just two of the many rails that make up today's fragmented global payment landscape—were established in 1977 and 1972, respectively. In terms of more recent developments, systems like SEPA in the Eurozone and national instant payment systems in several major markets still lack global interoperability and scale effects.

These shortcomings lead to high transaction costs, delays, and other barriers, exacerbating financial inclusion issues for those unable to access the global banking system. Overall, these frictions impose a considerable tax burden on global business activities. We urgently need a new standard for global fund flows that is convenient, secure, reliable, and open to all, capable of addressing these pain points and unlocking tremendous opportunities. This vision is becoming a reality in the form of the Circle stablecoin network.

Circle collaborates with leading banks, payment service providers, and other institutions to connect all participants in a comprehensive, internet-based settlement system centered around USDC, the largest regulated stablecoin globally. USDC can leverage the innovations of blockchain networks to compensate for and strengthen the global banking financial system. Since its launch in 2018, Circle has achieved over $850 billion in two-way flows between fiat currencies and supported blockchains. This stablecoin network enables banks, payment providers, businesses, and consumers to utilize USDC for real-time global settlements at extremely low transaction costs and with global accessibility.

In the half-century since the emergence of SWIFT and ACH, global communication has undergone a complete transformation, allowing people to connect instantly across the globe. Billions can watch Hollywood movies on their handheld mobile phones while riding the subway, access all of humanity's knowledge at almost no cost, and buy or sell nearly any product from around the world. Circle is building a value interconnection network based on stablecoins to provide a network upgrade for global finance. As this report outlines, this transformation is underway, and Circle expects to achieve accelerated progress in 2025 and beyond.

2.2 USDC as Both Currency and Platform

USDC is a digital dollar that can be transmitted across multiple blockchain networks, offering significant advantages in cost, speed, and coverage compared to traditional forms of money. USDC embodies the three fundamental functions of currency: it serves as a digital store of value, a unit of account, and a medium of exchange.

The USDC digital dollar is a tokenized version of fiat currency, loaded onto the internet, enabling individuals and businesses to transfer, consume, save, and store value with the same efficiency and scale as we transmit internet data today. Global research indicates that the cost of sending $200 in cross-border remittances can exceed 6% of the amount sent (and is on the rise), and the speed of these payments is also becoming slower. USDC enables near-instant dollar transfers at a cost of less than a cent.

At the same time, USDC is an ideal digital currency infrastructure that can be used globally as a store of value, for payments (especially cross-border payments), and to facilitate activities in the digital asset market. USDC not only makes the flow of funds faster, better, and cheaper but also unlocks new financial opportunities and applications.

As a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain, USDC needs to be closely integrated with the banking system at all times. Circle collaborates with leading banks, including several Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), to ensure that USDC can be exchanged for dollars at a 1:1 ratio. These partner banks are strategically distributed around the world, making USDC cost-effective and easily accessible in high-demand markets.

This year, Circle began offering USDC through national payment systems and local currencies in certain countries. As Circle seeks more banking integrations, it expects this local availability to become more widespread. USDC is also accepted as a primary settlement currency by the world's leading card organizations and payment networks, supporting its use as a medium of exchange.

The power of USDC lies in the fact that it is both a digital dollar and a platform. This platform is eliminating the technical barriers to transferring funds and building new applications on the blockchain, both of which have previously hindered the speed of adoption. Over time, this platform will push the complexity of blockchain to the background, making it easier to use and build with USDC, paving the way for mass adoption.

2.3 Circle's Compliance Principles for Managing USDC

Circle's fundamental principles for managing USDC are: 1) Security: USDC is a tokenized dollar, not a tokenized bank deposit; 2) Transparency: Full disclosure of reserve assets, guaranteed by a third party; 3) Liquidity: Can be exchanged for dollars at a 1:1 ratio globally at any time; 4) Robustness: Comprehensive risk management and world-class financial partners.

Circle is the sole issuer of USDC. As the issuer, Circle has established sound prudential risk management and transparency standards around USDC reserves to instill the highest confidence in its 1:1 redeemability. USDC is always fully backed by cash and cash equivalents held within a regulated financial system, with approximately 90% of the reserves in short-term U.S. Treasury securities and overnight repurchase agreements (Repos). These Treasury securities are managed by BlackRock through the Circle Reserve Fund, which is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and discloses its holdings daily. The remaining portion of the USDC reserves (10%) is in cash to provide immediate liquidity, with about 90% of the cash also held at G-SIBs.

Every week, Circle also discloses reserve assets, minting, and redemption information on the transparency page at circle.com. Monthly, reports on USDC and EURC reserves are published, with independent auditor Deloitte providing opinions on these reports. Circle is regulated in the U.S. and other global jurisdictions, including maintaining customer identity verification (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, privacy, regulatory reporting, and other risk management programs, while conducting blockchain monitoring and screening to prevent child exploitation, sanctioned addresses, terrorist financing, and other illegal activities.

USDC also enjoys this legal and regulatory clarity in Europe, as Circle has become the first major global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA regulations—the EURC euro stablecoin, fully issued and reserved by Circle's regulated electronic money institution in France, complies with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). By early October 2024, EURC became the largest circulating euro-backed stablecoin, with weekly transfer volumes exceeding $1 billion. EURC is available on multiple blockchains and has broad support from major digital asset service providers in the EU. The growth of non-dollar stablecoins has brought new possibilities for blockchain-based finance, including foreign exchange (FX), local capital markets, and tokenization efforts, as well as regional cross-border and remittance payment channels.

III. The Dollar on the Internet

Circle's mission is to enhance global economic prosperity through frictionless value exchange. Circle firmly believes that the speed, cost, and accessibility advantages brought by blockchain-based commerce can significantly benefit billions of people worldwide.

USDC has already been helping to accelerate the evolution of traditional financial services in the developed world, but its most impactful potential may be in assisting the 1.4 billion unbanked individuals. Many of these individuals live in areas far from financial infrastructure such as mobile phones, the internet, and fintech (including physical banks). USDC is a way to deliver low-cost, transparent digital dollars directly into their hands.

3.1 The Speed of Value Transfer on the Internet

This is all thanks to the inherent openness of USDC. USDC is built on open blockchain networks, allowing currency, payments, lending, and other programmable functions to be directly integrated into the architecture of the internet. As of 2024, USDC natively supports 16 blockchains, including Ethereum—the world's largest smart contract blockchain—and many "third-generation" blockchains designed from the ground up for near-instant, nearly free payment settlements.

USDC will drive the transfer of funds into the next paradigm. In the past, it took over two months for information to cross the Atlantic; faster ships, telegraphs, fax systems, and the internet have reduced data delays to milliseconds. However, the transfer of funds has remained relatively slow. Despite some improvements brought by ACH, SWIFT, and fintech, before the advent of blockchain, the transfer of funds lagged behind non-financial data. Blockchain brings the speed and scale of the internet to the transfer of value.

3.2 The Expanding USDC User Base

Globally, the number of people using USDC continues to rise steadily. Since the beginning of 2023, the number of wallets holding at least $10 in USDC has nearly doubled to 3.9 million addresses, with most of the growth occurring in 2024. This is part of a larger, longer-term transformation in the financial services sector that has been ongoing for at least two decades. The introduction of mobile devices and smartphones in the early to mid-2000s, along with regulations like the EU's Payment Services Directive (PSD), paved the way for tech companies to begin offering financial services.

In summary, the digitization of finance is driving significant change, with digital wallets (including those linked to payment cards) becoming a preferred payment method, and commercial payments rapidly digitizing.

Over the past year, Circle has established partnerships with many businesses that can now directly distribute USDC to millions of their own users. While these partnerships are still in their early stages, Circle expects that, with its large user base, these partnerships will help drive the next phase of growth for USDC by expanding access to dollars.

3.3 Surge in Global Interest in Circle

From powerful financial institutions and enterprise tech companies to pioneering payment firms, interest in Circle's business is deepening. Different companies around the world are leveraging the platform provided by Circle to better serve their customers, operate more efficiently, and create new connections. USDC is borderless, always online, and capable of enabling near-instant payments, fueling the next wave of global commerce.

IV. A New Internet Financial System — The Value Internet

The growth of the USDC user base is synchronously rising with the emergence of a new financial system on the internet, creating new ways of value exchange and enhancing and expanding activities within the traditional financial system. Over time, Circle expects that as more people, businesses, and institutions coalesce around the unparalleled utility provided by open internet protocols, more traditional financial activities will migrate to this new internet financial system—the Value Internet. This trend spans from information to communication, and now to currency itself—stablecoins.

4.1 The Trajectory of Internet Development

To understand this impending transformation and the role Circle hopes to play, we can look back at the trajectory of early internet development. The emergence of commercial internet in the 1990s and the push for "write access" in the early 2000s gave rise to new platform business models that empowered builders and directly connected users to one another. These platform businesses continue to dominate the internet today, encompassing social media, ride-sharing, e-commerce, app marketplaces, and more. By accumulating significant network effects and global scale, they create utility that enables deep, sustained interactions with loyal user bases.

The rise of digital currencies like USDC stems from the collision of currency with Moore's Law and Metcalfe's Law. In both the real world and online, the dollar is a currency with network effects. Circle is building a technology platform centered around USDC, leveraging the dollar's current strength and widespread use to fully utilize the scale, speed, and cost advantages of the internet to achieve similar network effects and utility for financial services.

4.2 The Value Layer of the Internet

To this end, Circle has designed USDC using open-source standards and smart contract blockchains so that any developer can easily access the tools they need to build global, scalable digital dollar applications. This programmability and composability are game-changing: it endows USDC with more powerful functions and new application potential than traditional dollars.

Circle provides developers with a range of additional services designed to make USDC easier for their businesses and end customers to use. This includes several types of USDC-supported wallets that businesses can embed directly into their existing customer interfaces with just a few lines of code, as well as an ever-expanding library of smart contract templates that eliminate much of the complexity involved in creating applications on the blockchain. Other services focus on simplifying the payment of network transaction fees, which are often priced in the native tokens of the blockchain, adding extra steps and usage barriers. Circle is now enabling the use of USDC to pay these fees.

At the same time, as a regulated financial services company, Circle prioritizes compliance. Developers and businesses building on the Circle platform can access tools to help ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) standards through real-time transaction screening, ongoing monitoring, and fulfilling travel rule obligations. Circle's new compliance engine provides developers with resources to meet compliance needs, delivering secure, robust, and responsible tools to a broader digital asset ecosystem.

Over the past two decades, leading cloud service providers have solved challenges like on-demand data storage, allowing today's internet companies to reduce their focus on back-end operations and invest more resources and attention into innovation and customer experience. Similarly, Circle offers a comprehensive toolkit that facilitates the development of "Web3."

Web3 embeds value directly into the architecture of the internet, enabling users to become owners of their data and other technological assets (including currency) and facilitating value exchange. Additionally, Web3 can serve as another new foundational layer of the internet, providing new pathways for corporate governance, value creation, and stakeholder engagement.

Just as 94% of Fortune 500 companies rely on public cloud for their business operations today, Circle expects that in the coming years, more and more major companies will turn to this value internet. According to some studies, over half of surveyed Fortune 500 executives stated that their companies are already building on blockchain. In addition to making it easier to launch individual applications, Circle also provides enhanced features that can transform USDC into a bridge connecting a wide range of services across the entire blockchain ecosystem. The Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) launched in 2023 is one such example.

One reason email became popular globally is its worldwide coverage, with SMTP enabling seamless communication regardless of the service used. Similarly, CCTP facilitates the interoperability of USDC across supported blockchain networks. By eliminating the long-standing friction and risks of transferring value between blockchains—since blockchains themselves cannot communicate with each other—CCTP transforms a significant portion of the growing blockchain ecosystem into a single interconnected network where USDC can flow easily. Although still in its early lifecycle, CCTP has already become the primary means for transferring USDC from one blockchain to another. Since its inception, CCTP has processed over $20 billion in USDC transfers.

4.3 Nurturing the Developer Ecosystem

The flow of funds touches nearly every aspect of local and global commerce. USDC and Circle's technological solutions are built on open protocols and programmability, providing any software developer with the tools they are familiar with—including APIs in standard programming languages—to create powerful applications that can upgrade traditional financial systems.

Developers are already leveraging this new opportunity to build the value internet. Crucially, this process is occurring both bottom-up and top-down. Entrepreneurs are using USDC and Circle's platform to create entirely new categories of financial applications. Meanwhile, businesses are integrating the efficiency of USDC and blockchain into their existing operations using the same infrastructure. Every day, Circle invests in the growth of the blockchain ecosystem and the developer community.

Globally, Circle hosts workshops and provides other resources to make it easier for developers to get hands-on experience and harness the power of digital dollars. Circle helps developers unlock the USDC platform, enabling them to integrate enterprise-grade software into trusted applications built for the digital dollar use cases highlighted in this report.

So far, most of the activity among USDC developers has focused on deepening the connections between the blockchain ecosystem and traditional financial rails. These connections serve as on-ramps and off-ramps, making USDC more impactful for existing payment use cases. These activities support and enhance the development of a more robust on-chain economy, where comprehensive financial activities connecting buyers, sellers, and merchants can occur natively on the blockchain.

The growing intersection of blockchain and AI is another area of increasing focus within the USDC developer community. Although still in its early stages, there are signs that autonomous payments using USDC may begin to open up new business models for internet goods and create more convenient ways for people to consume. The Circle platform is ready to help developers build this future.

This on-chain economy is emerging across multiple blockchains, further emphasizing the need for neutral, interoperable infrastructure—including USDC and CCTP—that eliminates friction in conducting business across these networks. In fact, the top six blockchains ranked by builder interest all feature native USDC availability and complete CCTP integration, highlighting Circle's central role in this growing ecosystem of builders and creators.

V. USDC Real-World Use Cases

The uses of USDC are as rich as those of fiat dollars, if not more so. Today, most USDC activity is focused on the following four categories:

5.1 Global Dollar Access

There is strong demand for dollars outside the United States, both for commercial and personal use. The dollar accounts for over 90% of cross-border trade in Latin America, 74% in the Asia-Pacific region, and 79% in other regions outside Europe. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, over $1 trillion in U.S. paper currency—and more than 60% of all $100 bills—are held outside the United States.

The use of USDC outside the U.S. is largely driven by these factors, as well as its easier accessibility compared to traditional bank dollars. Throughout the year, Circle has partnered with established fintech companies, neobanks, and other distributors, enabling them to deliver USDC directly to global customers.

5.1.1 Nubank — Emerging Bank in Latin America

Nubank is the largest digital banking platform outside Asia, serving 105 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. The company has been leading the industry transformation by developing innovative financial products and services using data and proprietary technology. Guided by the mission of "fighting complexity and empowering people," Nubank meets customers' complete financial journey, promoting financial access and development through responsible lending and transparency. The company is supported by an efficient and scalable business model that combines low-cost services with growing returns. Nubank's impact has been recognized with multiple awards, including TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and Forbes' Best Banks in the World.

In May 2024, Circle announced its launch in Nubank's home market of Brazil. This release includes a partnership with Nubank, where the two companies will co-create digital asset products that allow Nubank users to access USDC nearly instantly, at low cost, and around the clock. In addition to using dollars as a store of value, Nubank users can transfer USDC to other wallets and increasingly use it in everyday financial activities. At Nubank, 30% of crypto users hold USDC assets, and 50% of new users see USDC as a gateway into the crypto world, with the number of users holding USDC increasing tenfold in 2024.

As Nubank continues to expand its influence in Latin America and beyond, USDC will be the cornerstone of our strategy to provide innovative financial solutions to our customers. Its stability, global reach, and commitment to regulatory compliance make it the ideal partner for building a more inclusive and accessible financial future. Thomaz Fortes, Head of Crypto

5.1.2 Lemon — Fiat and Digital Currency Wallet

Lemon is a Latin American company that has become a leader in the retail digital currency market. Lemon has direct operations in Argentina, Peru, and Brazil, and partners with others to cover users in Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, and Ecuador. Their main product is a virtual wallet that combines traditional finance with digital currency. By integrating DeFi protocols, users can earn additional cryptocurrency income weekly, further enhancing the seamless exchange between local currencies and cryptocurrencies (including USDC).

The innovative Visa Lemon card is available to users in Argentina, offering global spending with cashback in Bitcoin on every purchase. Lemon and Visa have deepened their partnership and are planning to expand the Lemon card throughout the region. Additionally, Peruvians can interact with local payment systems using either fiat or cryptocurrency and remit funds via QR codes. At Lemon, users collectively hold $137 million in USDC, with a 21% increase in new USDC users.

With over 3 million users in the region, the amount of USDC held by Lemon has grown by 61% over the past 12 months. This reflects the growing demand for digital dollars. This growth highlights the importance of stablecoins and our ability to provide tailored solutions that enable individuals in Latin America to manage their funds freely and without barriers. Maximiliano Raimondi, CFO

5.2 Digital Asset Market

In 2024, the digital asset market is experiencing strong momentum, with significant increases in mainstream adoption. As more jurisdictions around the world enact clear regulations to govern market behavior, an increasing number of digital asset exchanges are becoming compliant entry points for new users to access financial products with enhanced security measures and strong consumer protections.

USDC plays an increasingly important role in these markets. As the most widely used regulated stablecoin, USDC can eliminate risks for exchanges and their customers, serving as a liquid dollar foundation for trading, lending, storing value, and other activities.

Based on the growing public interest, the amount of USDC held by global centralized exchanges steadily increased in 2024. Increased institutional support for USDC trading and the launch of new products pegged to USDC continue to enhance the liquidity of USDC trading against Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital currency spot and leveraged products.

USDC also plays a significant role in decentralized finance (DeFi), where institutions often place a high value on security and transparency. As digital asset prices rise, DeFi rebounded throughout 2024, with a total value locked (TVL) exceeding $126 billion as of November 30, 2024. USDC builds on a strong usage rate in DeFi history, accounting for 69% of stablecoin trading volume during the same period.

As more global jurisdictions enact regulations for digital asset markets, the demand for regulated stablecoins will grow. This is already evident in Europe, which passed a comprehensive MiCA framework in the summer of 2024. European traders are increasingly opting for regulated stablecoins, including USDC and EURC, which have been compliant with MiCA standards from day one. Throughout 2024, several exchanges in the region announced plans to delist non-compliant stablecoins ahead of the full compliance deadline of December 31, 2024.

Despite the lack of market structure regulation, mainstream adoption in the U.S. is also accelerating, largely driven by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), allowing asset managers to provide access to the largest digital assets for their clients. Months later, the SEC approved a spot ETF for Ether. Overall, these ETFs provide mainstream investors with a highly regulated and transparent way to invest nearly $2.5 trillion in digital assets as of November 30, 2024. To date, at least 11 U.S. institutions have launched ETFs linked to Bitcoin or Ether, which are the two largest digital assets by market capitalization.

While Circle is not directly involved in these ETFs, its long-standing regulatory priority means that USDC is benefiting from broader trends in the digital asset market, namely clearer regulations and integration into the global financial system. Major traditional investment platforms in the U.S. and around the world continue to expand their range of digital products, with USDC serving as a bridge connecting traditional assets and digital asset markets to serve clients.

5.2.1 Coinbase — The World's Leading Compliant Digital Asset Exchange

Coinbase provides a trusted platform that enables individuals and institutions to easily engage with digital assets, including trading, staking, custody, spending, and fast, free global transfers. USDC plays an important role in Coinbase, accounting for a significant portion of trading liquidity and collateral. In 2023, Coinbase launched Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain that enables USDC transactions in less than a second at a cost of less than a penny. This year, Base's adoption rate has significantly increased, with USDC—being the leading stablecoin on Base—being a key part of this surge. Over the past few years, approximately $562 billion in USDC has come to Base. Coinbase also offers a range of other services that make it easier for more people to access and start using USDC.

Stablecoins are changing the global financial landscape by promoting greater openness and inclusivity. The continuous expansion of USDC circulation will enhance global economic freedom and set new standards for industries based on trust and transparency. We are excited to further drive innovation by advancing the development of the USDC ecosystem, its circulation, and global adoption. Shan Aggarwal, VP of Corporate and Business Development

5.2.3 Chipper Cash — Convenient Financial Services for Africa

Chipper Cash, with over 6 million registered users, is one of Africa's largest fintech companies. The company enables Africans to easily send remittances, avoiding the hassles and fees typically encountered with other payment systems. Chipper leverages USDC for efficient global fund management, optimizing and reducing cross-border settlement costs.

Chipper offers a variety of products, including dollar-denominated savings (for local workers wishing to convert foreign wages into USDC), virtual Visa cards that can be funded and used locally or globally, fractional shares for investing in foreign stocks, and remittances. Chipper holds 49 operating licenses globally, including a recently issued broker-dealer license from the Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission. Circle and Chipper are proud partners, providing trusted and accessible financial services across Africa and beyond.

USDC is a key settlement layer for Chipper Cash's technology platform and its growing number of partners, enabling seamless 24/7 dollar transfers and facilitating broad interoperability. By using USDC on a shared ledger, we significantly enhance operational efficiency—real-time reconciliation, transparent fund tracking, and reduced transaction disputes simplify our internal liquidity processes. This efficiency is crucial to our growth strategy and our commitment to providing robust and reliable financial services to users in Africa and beyond. Maijid Moujaled, Co-founder & CEO

5.2.2 Bullish — Innovative Digital Asset Exchange

Bullish focuses on developing products and services for the institutional digital asset space, reshaping traditional exchanges to benefit asset holders, empower traders, and enhance market transparency. Backed by strong capital support, Bullish's centralized exchange combines a high-performance central limit order book (CLOB) with proprietary automated market-making technology to provide deep liquidity and tight spreads—all within a compliant and regulated framework. The exchange launched in November 2021 and serves over 50 specific jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Bullish is a fully reserved exchange that prioritizes compliance and the protection of customer assets through robust security measures and regulatory oversight.

The Bullish exchange is operated by Bullish (GI) Limited and is regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. Bullish launched USDC in 2021 and currently lists over 50 USDC trading pairs in the spot and derivatives markets. Bullish sees daily USDC trading volumes reaching $1.3 billion, accounting for 83% of the total exchange volume.

The introduction of strong regulatory frameworks globally is opening the cryptocurrency market to existing diversified financial services participants. USDC not only provides an efficient and secure medium for trading but also offers institutions a way to confidently engage with digital assets while serving as an important mechanism for recycling risk capital. Chris Tyrer, Head of Institutional

5.2.3 dYdX — Leading Decentralized Exchange

dYdX is one of the largest and most successful protocols in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, founded by Antonio Juliano in 2017. It initially launched on the Ethereum mainnet and later built a Layer 2 scaling solution in 2020 with Ethereum Layer 2 Starkware.

Recognizing the need to reduce fees and speed up transactions, dYdX began exploring alternative infrastructure and relaunched their services on Cosmos in 2023, a highly modular ecosystem that allows services like dYdX to build and operate their own blockchains.

Every transaction on dYdX is settled almost instantly in USDC. Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) provides users with a simple way to bring native USDC liquidity from other blockchain ecosystems to Cosmos. CCTP is a permissionless on-chain utility that facilitates the secure transfer of USDC between blockchains through native burn and mint. CCTP allows users to easily connect wallets and deposit USDC from Ethereum and other supported networks. Read more about Circle, dYdX, and Cosmos.

Circle thanks the Circle team; dYdX Chain has processed over $10 billion in transaction volume since its deployment. This is a tremendous achievement that would not have been possible without the innovation of native USDC on Cosmos and CCTP. At dYdX, we greatly appreciate Circle's ongoing innovation and their commitment to ensuring user safety and reliability. Antonio Juliano, Founder

5.3 Payments

Blockchain networks can provide a significant upgrade to outdated, fragmented traditional payment rails by replacing multiple intermediaries and isolated databases with streamlined, always-on, interoperable technology that can transfer value to anyone with an internet connection.

USDC is driving the evolution of global payments, from merchant acquiring to remittances and B2B payments. USDC is well-suited to reduce costs and increase the flow of $150 trillion in cross-border transactions. Particularly in the case of commercial payments, these have shifted to digital alternatives, and this growth is expected to continue in the coming years. USDC can help fully realize the benefits of digital payments as it operates through an open, shared blockchain ledger without intermediaries.

This year, Circle has taken significant steps to leverage this trend in major global markets where there is high demand for digital dollars. Businesses in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, the European Economic Area, Singapore, and Hong Kong can now utilize Circle's banking partnerships to make payments in USDC to other businesses in these markets. Recipients with accounts at Circle's banking partners can easily convert these funds into local currency, completing the process in just a few minutes.

These markets are among the most active global trade corridors. For example, bilateral trade between the U.S. and Mexico exceeds $800 billion annually. In Brazil, 95% of the country's $640 billion in annual foreign goods trade is conducted in dollars. Circle expects that more banking partnerships will continue to enhance the global liquidity and payment utility of USDC, paving the way for broader use in merchant, vendor, trade, remittance, payroll, intercompany, and other payment types.

5.3.1 Worldpay — Innovative Global Payment Service Provider

Worldpay provides payment, collection, and management services for businesses of all sizes. They are a global leader in the fintech space, with a unique capability to support full business operations. Whether online, in-store, or mobile, Worldpay is at the core of exceptional business experiences across 146 countries and 135 currencies. They help clients improve efficiency, enhance security, and achieve greater success.

In 2022, Worldpay became the first global merchant acquirer to offer direct USDC settlement, enabling merchants worldwide to take advantage of the growing stablecoin payment volume and providing new payment options for both cryptocurrency-native businesses and traditional enterprises. The adoption of USDC also allows businesses to develop financial strategies in their preferred currency suited to their operations. As a result, Worldpay clients are no longer limited to payment service providers that only offer fiat currency ecosystems but can leverage innovative crypto payment methods to receive, hold, and transfer stablecoins quickly and efficiently.

This year, with the rebound of the digital asset market, Worldpay is well-positioned to capitalize on rising retail interest. In addition to providing card-to-crypto purchase and crypto-to-card withdrawal functionalities for several major exchanges, they also offer streamlined fund management through USDC settlement. Worldpay clients can receive USDC from their customers instead of fiat currency and settle these funds over the weekend (outside traditional banking hours) to help optimize working capital.

Partnering with Circle enables Worldpay to bring new innovative, scalable digital payment solutions to our merchants. Our partnership enhances transaction efficiency while expanding customer access to secure on-chain transactions. USDC settlement allows our merchants to position themselves at the forefront of digital finance, where they can benefit from fast and efficient settlements. Looking ahead to 2025, Worldpay is excited about the opportunities to collaborate with Circle to continue developing the ecosystem, allowing more participants to leverage the advantages offered by stablecoins. Nabil Manji, SVP, Head of FinTech Growth & Financial Partnerships

5.3.2 Mastercard — Global Card Organization Network

Mastercard is collaborating with businesses and governments around the world in areas such as payments to improve the lives of billions of people they serve. For over 60 years, Mastercard has been at the forefront of developing technology that makes payments simpler, smarter, and safer. Mastercard's global network drives the advancement of the payment ecosystem by leveraging technology to build stronger connections and bring more people into the digital economy.

The partnership between Mastercard and Circle has now entered its fifth year. In 2021, Mastercard announced that it would make it easier for issuers and their crypto card partners to use USDC to settle payments generated on the Mastercard network. Subsequently, the same functionality was expanded to support acquirers wishing to pay merchants in USDC. Currently, millions of dollars are being settled using this solution, available to both issuers and acquirers. Additionally, Mastercard launched a card product structure last year that allows USDC held in self-custody wallets to be used at over 100 million Mastercard acceptance locations.

At Mastercard, we strive to meet the needs of consumers and clients. Clients operating in the digital asset space and co-branded partners, considering their business models, prefer to deal with stablecoins, including USDC, and we want them to have the option to choose our network's settlement mechanism. Our partnership with Circle will continue to evolve to support our mission of making payments simpler, smarter, and safer. Izzy Iliev-Wollitzer, SVP, Blockchain and Digital Assets. At MetaMask, we are thrilled to collaborate with Mastercard and Circle. We set out to create a solution that allows users to pay directly from their MetaMask accounts anywhere Mastercard is accepted, and with the collaboration of these valuable partners, we achieved this last summer. While this is an important step toward better and faster payment services, we believe it is just the first step in a new era of financial inclusion — we look forward to continuing to build it together. Daniel Lynch, Card Strategy Lead

5.3.3 Zodia Markets — Driving Corporate Cross-Border Payments with Standard Chartered

Zodia Markets is an institutionally focused digital asset brokerage that offers a wide range of services to global clients, including over-the-counter trading and on-chain foreign exchange. At Zodia Markets, there is an annual USDC fundraising of $4 billion, with an average cross-border payment amount of $3.5 million per transaction.

Zodia Markets was established by Standard Chartered's innovation arm SC Ventures and Asia's leading digital asset company OSL Group, supporting over 50 digital assets and more than 20 fiat currencies. The company's institutional focus and unique relationship with Standard Chartered position it at the core of USDC's corporate cross-border payment use cases, particularly in emerging markets. Clients include multinational commodity companies and other businesses looking to accelerate growth by transferring dollars across borders in a faster and cheaper manner.

Standard Chartered is a well-capitalized global bank and a major shareholder of Zodia Markets, playing a key role in the integration of digital assets and traditional finance. With a long history and a diverse business line portfolio, Standard Chartered understands how to facilitate sustainable growth for global businesses and individuals. In 2023, Standard Chartered became one of the banks holding a portion of reserves backing USDC. The bank also helps facilitate local minting in Singapore, making it easier for people to access USDC in high-demand markets. Circle's partnership with Standard Chartered means Zodia Markets can mint and burn USDC almost instantly, giving clients the opportunity to enter and exit global payment flows within minutes.

5.3.4 MoneyGram — A Global Leader in Fintech

MoneyGram is one of the world's leading fintech companies, with 80 years of history dedicated to helping individuals and businesses around the globe send money faster and more efficiently. Today, their services span over 200 countries and territories, reaching more than 150 million consumers who can choose how to send money — online, in their highly-rated mobile app, or at one of over 440,000 locations.

MoneyGram uses USDC on the Stellar blockchain to facilitate internet-scale dollar flows while being able to cash out in 180 countries and convert to USDC in over 30 countries. In 2024, MoneyGram launched the MoneyGram® Wallet, a non-custodial digital wallet that makes peer-to-peer remittances easier using USDC. Based on their global business reach and decades of expertise, their remittance methods are global rather than regional. MoneyGram has already connected the U.S. with Brazil and Mexico and plans to enable more payment corridors under construction.

At Circle, we see tremendous potential in USDC's collaboration with Circle to enhance the speed, transparency, and accessibility of cross-border transactions. Our goal is to empower communities around the world through greater financial inclusion. Open blockchain networks represent a key step in the evolution of global currency flows, allowing us to meet the growing expectations of tech-savvy customers. By leveraging blockchain technology and stablecoins like USDC, MoneyGram is at the forefront of innovation, connecting traditional and digital financial ecosystems and enabling interoperability between digital assets and local currencies. Jon Lira MoneyGram Access, Head of Partnerships

5.3.5 Stripe — U.S. Payment Giant

Stripe is a technology company building financial infrastructure for the internet. From startups to publicly traded companies, businesses of all sizes use Stripe's software to accept payments and manage their businesses online. In 2023, the total payment volume processed by Stripe's business customers reached $1 trillion. Stripe is one of the most innovative companies in the world and an early adopter of crypto payments. In 2022, they began offering USDC as a payment option for platforms, and in 2024, they enabled merchants to accept stablecoin payments in USDC on the Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon blockchains.

5.4 Humanitarian Aid

In some of the most remote and hard-to-reach areas of the world, humanitarian organizations often resort to cash transfers across borders to facilitate cross-border payments.

This method of distributing aid is unreliable, costly, inefficient, and susceptible to corruption. Currently, 1.4 billion people live in areas with limited access to banking services. An estimated 130 million people are expected to fall into extreme poverty due to the trends of global climate change.

USDC is beginning to change this situation, providing more effective and secure alternatives for some of the leading humanitarian aid organizations in the world. USDC can support transactions in 180 countries, and transaction costs are negligible.

By providing a fast, transparent, and efficient way to transfer value directly over the internet with just a mobile device and a digital wallet, USDC can bridge this seemingly insurmountable gap. It allows aid organizations to provide support to those in greatest need with unparalleled speed, lower costs, and a high degree of auditability and trust, all of which are cornerstones of humanitarian work.

Entrepreneurs around the world are also turning to USDC to build the next generation of humanitarian aid services. Circle nurtures this entrepreneurial community through Unlocking Impact, a series of pitch competitions that bring together humanitarian, business, and technology sectors to design new USDC use cases to address the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the fall of 2024, Circle hosted the fourth and fifth Unlocking Impact pitch competitions during the United Nations General Assembly and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings. The winners included Kshetra and Decaf, startups that use USDC to create payment and remittance services that promote financial inclusion.

5.4.1 The UN Refugee Agency — UNHCR

Today, over 120 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced, a number close to the total population of Japan. However, with the increase in persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations, the outlook for the displaced is increasingly bleak. The UN Refugee Agency leads international efforts to protect those forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution. The UNHCR provides life-saving assistance such as shelter, food, and water, helps uphold basic human rights, and develops solutions to ensure people have a safe home where they can build a better future.

Distributing aid supplies to the displaced is a daunting challenge. They may lack access to banking services, especially in countries ravaged by war and turmoil. Local currencies may be unstable and difficult to use outside their issuing countries, leading to a diminished value for those forced to seek safety across borders. The risk of cash being lost or stolen is high, which is another major issue for those without a stable home base. As part of a humanitarian cash program, the UNHCR and Circle launched a program in December 2022 to distribute borderless digital dollars in the form of USDC to a group of people displaced by the war in Ukraine. The funds are transferred directly to recipients' digital wallets via the Stellar blockchain, allowing recipients to access their wallets almost immediately through a digital wallet on their smartphones, with a fully integrated cash-out solution that complies with regulatory requirements.

The success of this solution in Ukraine has propelled its further expansion and implementation in other regions. For example, in Argentina, the introduction of this blockchain-based system can help safeguard the value of cash assistance from the impacts of high inflation and currency devaluation in the country, significantly enhancing the purchasing power and impact of aid provided to displaced persons in Latin America. By leveraging blockchain technology and the stablecoin USDC issued by Circle, this solution enhances transparency for donors and traceability for humanitarian aid recipients and stakeholders. The integration of digital wallets and direct access to the financial ecosystem makes aid more accessible, even for those without traditional bank accounts.

This approach enhances the resilience of refugees by sustaining their livelihoods, promoting financial and digital inclusion, and enabling them to contribute to the economies of host countries and beyond. Blockchain technology can facilitate real-time, transparent, and accountable aid distribution, transforming humanitarian assistance. There is strong optimism about further leveraging blockchain and cryptocurrencies to support the most vulnerable groups, including the displaced. Carmen Hett, Treasurer

5.4.2 Goodwall — Bridging the Gap of Inequality

Goodwall was founded by brothers Taha and Omar Bawa, whose parents both worked for the United Nations. While accompanying their parents to refugee camps, they observed the inequality of opportunity and were determined from a young age to bridge this gap. By 2030, it is expected that 1 billion people will enter the workforce, with 90% coming from developing economies. To address this situation, the brothers founded Goodwall, which serves as a powerful social community connecting this growing talent pool and helping them develop the key skills needed for future employment.

Generation Z, with a population of over 2 billion, is the largest generation in history, yet employers and brands struggle to engage with them in authentic, large-scale interactions. Goodwall provides a platform for companies like Microsoft and Accenture, as well as governments and the United Nations, to attract, engage, and build channels to Gen Z talent and consumers, reaching over 100 million young people in the past 12 months.

All user activities (such as picking up bottles on the beach) are verified through geotagged photos and videos, earning rewards on the platform. Goodwall chose USDC for payments due to its efficiency, cost, and reach, as well as the widespread demand for dollars in developing markets. In 2023, the Bawa brothers reached over 90 million people across 170 countries. Nearly 3 million registered to start enhancing their career skills and earn USDC through environmental impact actions.

This fall, Goodwall will implement Circle's programmable wallet in partnership with Arbitrum, aimed at providing banking services to the unbanked and connecting young people globally to the digital economy. Goodwall expects to distribute USDC payments to over 50,000 beneficiaries through this program in the coming year.

5.4.3 Ensuro — Leveraging Blockchain Advantages to Support Underinsured Markets

Ensuro is an innovative insurance provider that utilizes blockchain technology and smart contracts to revolutionize the insurance industry, making it more capital-efficient and inclusive. Ensuro's mission is to expand insurance coverage to individuals and businesses traditionally overlooked by large insurance companies due to profitability constraints. The company's low fixed cost base benefits from blockchain efficiency, allowing it to provide insurance to underserved markets. While other insurance companies have also experimented with smart contracts, they still rely on traditional payment systems, which have proven too slow and costly.

By using USDC, Ensuro ensures that policyholders receive claims payments within minutes, a transformative benefit, especially for those in economically vulnerable situations. Currently, Ensuro covers 170,000 policies, reaching smallholder farmers in Kenya. Through its partnership with Circle, Ensuro's policy values can reach $50, enabling coverage for a broader range of individuals and merchants.

6. Policy and Regulatory Trends Outlook

Last year was a breakthrough year for legal and regulatory clarity around stablecoins. At this stage of market and policy development, so-called stablecoins need to be regulated to bring this new form of digital currency into the realm of trusted financial services. Emerging stablecoin rules around the world are effectively codifying Circle's operating model into law, establishing clear requirements for trust, transparency, financial integrity, and other areas.

Circle became the first stablecoin issuer to comply with Canada's new listing rules. "The proactive measures taken by Canadian securities regulators in establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets reinforce the integrity of the digital asset market while ensuring the continued trust of USDC in Canada's thriving ecosystem." Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy.

Circle expands its Middle East operations by registering in ADGM. In December 2024, Circle reached a key milestone in its strategic process of expanding into the Middle East and Africa by announcing its registration in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The Middle East and Africa are key frontiers for advancing financial inclusion and efficiency, and registration in this tech-leading region will help drive innovative collaboration, financial inclusion, and accessibility.

Circle announces new global headquarters in Wall Street. In September 2024, Circle announced plans to establish its new global corporate headquarters in the iconic One World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. The headquarters will open in early 2025, occupying the 87th floor of the entire building, serving as a gathering place for partners, tech experts, public leaders, employees, and other global stakeholders. "We are investing in New York. We are investing in the U.S. … We are honored to join the vibrant community of innovators, tech experts, and financial leaders in New York." Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO.

Circle becomes the first major global stablecoin issuer to comply with EU MiCA regulations. On July 1, 2024, in Paris, Circle announced that it had obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the French financial regulator ACPR. This EMI license will enable Circle to issue USDC and EURC in the EU market in full compliance with MiCA requirements, serving over 450 million residents and covering the world's third-largest economy. Following this news, in early October 2024, EURC became the largest euro-backed stablecoin by total circulation.

Under MiCA, fiat-backed stablecoins (or what Europe calls electronic money tokens) are considered legal electronic money, creating a level playing field for payment systems and electronic money operators in the EU. Crucially, given the novel universal portability of stablecoins, Circle's collaboration with French and EU regulatory and policy stakeholders ensures the global interchangeability of USDC and EURC in the EU. This not only provides EU market participants with stablecoins priced in local currencies but also ensures that dollar-based activities in the EU are comprehensively regulated.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., long-awaited legislative progress in the House and Senate may now be achieved under the incoming Trump administration, which has expressed support for growth, innovation, and cryptocurrencies. This is not a policy effort that needs to start from scratch in the U.S., as bipartisan frameworks have already been established for principled rules in the U.S. that apply not only to stablecoins but also to the structure of the cryptocurrency market. In this context, President Trump has the opportunity to fulfill his campaign promise to establish U.S. leadership in the cryptocurrency space. By regulating stablecoins, the U.S. can help ensure that the digital dollar becomes the reserve currency of the internet, just as it is the reserve currency of the world.

Other major economies are also expected to follow suit in 2025, including the UK. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Starmer's government, the UK now likely has the political stability to fulfill long-standing regulatory interests and research into the digital asset market. In this regard, both the UK and the U.S. have begun important work on developing national payment strategies, where regulated stablecoins serve as compelling use cases for digital savings tools, providing much-needed competition for entrenched payment providers.

Similarly, Brazil is expected to incorporate stablecoins and digital assets into the regulatory framework of its already impressive domestic payment environment, while Hong Kong, as one of Asia's most important financial centers, will establish principled rules for stablecoins. These rules may be based on Japan's regulatory reciprocity concept while solidifying Singapore's long-standing position as a fintech hub in Asia.

As more global financial centers provide much-needed platforms for stablecoin activities within their jurisdictions, banks, asset management firms, and regulators around the world are building critical bridges from the internet financial system to the real economy. Concerns about fierce competition are giving way to collaboration and clear objectives, where today's generation of stablecoins and blockchain-based financial services are expanding (rather than disrupting) the reach of the real economy.

Today's stablecoins and blockchain networks are not meant to disrupt financial services but to expand the boundaries of innovative financial services. Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。