Circle eyes Ant Group integration to expand USDC use globally
Circle and Ant Group discuss partnership to add USDC to Alipay
USDC issuer Circle is exploring a potential partnership with Ant Group to expand its footprint in China.
Jack Ma-backed Ant Group Co. is working with Circle Internet Group Inc. to adopt its stablecoin on the Chinese fintech company’s blockchain platform, according to people familiar with the matter.
Still, if successful, USDC integration into the massively popular payment platform could eventually expose the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin to over a billion users, including within mainland China.
Stablecoin competition drives push into new markets
The move aligns with Ant International’s broader objective to incorporate regulated digital assets — including stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and tokenized deposits — into its ecosystem. USDC, one of the most widely adopted stablecoins, could play a key role in that strategy.
For Circle, this partnership could provide valuable access to Alibaba and Aliexpress platforms, potentially narrowing the gap with Tether’s USDT — the dominant dollar-pegged stablecoin. However, it remains unclear how Chinese regulators might react, given their previous concerns about the growing influence of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins in global financial systems.
Further progress in Circle and Ant Group’s collaboration is likely to trigger responses from China aimed at defending its financial sovereignty.
As we wrote, Circle files for IPO on NYSE under CRCL ticker, seeks to raise $624 million
