Circle plans to expand USDC into 40 new markets

Traders Union
All News
Crypto
Circle plans to expand USDC

Circle expands its global presence

According to the company's CEO, demand for stablecoins is growing organically in developing countries. Individuals and businesses increasingly see digital dollars as a tool for international transfers, payments and participation in the global digital economy.

To accelerate its expansion, Circle has agreed to acquire payments company Tazapay for $400 million. The company has also received a $100 million strategic investment from cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Circle currently controls approximately 25% of the global stablecoin market, while its main competitor, Tether, holds nearly 60% with its USDT token. In the second quarter of 2026, USDC circulation increased by 19% year over year to $73.3 billion.

Banks enter the stablecoin market

Allaire sees regulatory developments as one of the main drivers of growth. In particular, the U.S. GENIUS Act, which is expected to take effect in January 2027, will establish rules for payment stablecoin issuers.

"When the Genius Act goes into law, the world will have legal digital dollars...That is a watershed moment," the Circle CEO said.

In July, Circle became one of the first stablecoin issuers to receive a federal banking charter in the United States. Meanwhile, major banks in the U.S. and Europe have accelerated the development of their own stablecoins and digital asset solutions.

Allaire welcomes the growing competition. In his view, traditional financial institutions are gradually losing their longstanding control over payment services.

"There's a very, very long time where the banking industry fought successfully to keep other people out, and I think they are no longer in charge, and the innovators are having their day," he said.

AI agents become a new source of demand

Another promising area for Circle is payments between AI agents. These programs can independently pay for information, data analysis and access to online services. Individual transactions can cost fractions of a cent.

To support such payments, Circle offers its own blockchain infrastructure, Arc. Reuters names BlackRock, Visa and Standard Chartered among the companies using its solutions. Major financial institutions are also gradually moving beyond stablecoin testing toward practical applications in cross-border settlements and asset transfers.

However, the rapid development of AI also creates additional risks. Allaire warned that financial infrastructure providers face growing threats from malicious actors using sophisticated automated systems and swarms of AI agents.

"If you're not concerned about it, then your head is in the sand, right?” he said.

Circle therefore aims to strengthen USDC's position in several areas, including international payments, traditional financial services and transactions between AI agents. At the same time, its continued expansion will bring stronger competition from both other stablecoin issuers and the world's largest banks.

Why Circle is not afraid of competing with Tether

Despite trailing Tether significantly in market share, Circle hopes to strengthen USDC's position by focusing on regulatory compliance. In July 2024, the company became the first global stablecoin issuer to achieve compliance with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). This allowed USDC to maintain access to the regulated EU market and made it more attractive to banks and major financial institutions.

Tether took a different approach, declining to adapt USDT to MiCA requirements, which its management considers excessively restrictive. As a result, major cryptocurrency exchanges began removing USDT trading pairs for customers in the European Economic Area in 2025. For example, Binance discontinued such trading at the end of March while continuing to allow users to hold and withdraw the tokens. This created additional opportunities for Circle to expand its presence in Europe, although USDT still significantly exceeds USDC in circulation.

As a reminder, the EU has recognized USDC as systemically important under MiCA.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.