Circle and Genesis Form Strategic Partnership to Advance USDC Adoption in Consumer Finance
BOSTON and NEW YORK, July 30, 2020 / PRNewswire / – Circle Internet Financial Ltd, a leading global financial technology company, and Genesis, a leading digital asset brokerage firm, have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate adoption and acceptance of digital dollar stablecoins in traditional finance. The partnership includes a $ 25 million capital investment in Circle from Digital currency group (DCG), the parent company of Genesis, as well as joint efforts to enhance Circle’s new product line for enterprises and developers with new USD coin (USDC) yield and loan services.
The momentum and growth of digital dollar stablecoins in 2020 has been huge, with US dollar stablecoins reaching over $ 12 billion in circulation, and on-chain stablecoin transactions now representing the largest category. use and transactions on blockchains. Recent market forecasts research firm Messari believes that stable on-chain transactions are approaching 600 billion dollars in volume this year. In perspective, in 2019, the total volume of payments on PayPal was $ 712 billion.
The USDC in particular has experienced tremendous growth, decisively becoming the fastest growing and most widely adopted digital dollar stable coin, fully reserved and compliant. USDC in circulation has grown from just over $ 400 million at the start of 2020 to over $ 1.1 billion today. The uptake of USDC has spread to exchanges, payments, savings, loans, and other use cases of blockchain finance. Today, hundreds of companies in the blockchain ecosystem have incorporated USDC support into their products and services.
Building on this growth, Circle launched its new Circle Business Account and Circle API products in the second quarter of 2020. These new services provide businesses, fintechs and other financial institutions with a comprehensive suite of accounts and APIs for the integration and implementation of USDC for payments, trade and financial applications. Customers who adopt these services span a wide range of industries and use cases including e-commerce, on-demand delivery markets, digital games, internet services, P2P digital wallets, exchanges, payments B2B, neobanks, trade finance, and digital asset lending and yield products. .
During this same period, Genesis continued to grow and lead as the largest crypto asset lending facility in the market, with record lending volumes across a wide range of institutional client segments. Genesis was born over $ 2 billion loans in the first quarter of 2020 and generated more than 8 billion dollars since the launch of the company in March 2018. As part of this growth, USDC has become one of the most demanded lending and borrowing assets as the market seeks to treat and use USDC as a very reliable payment rail and cash asset. prefer.
Together, Circle and Genesis will bring to market solutions for businesses and developers looking to generate a strong positive return from their own USDC holdings or those of their clients, and access to USDC-based credit for businesses and traders who use USDC for treasury and business operations. Payments. In addition to this partnership, the DCG provided $ 25 million strategic capital to Circle, which will be used to accelerate investment and growth of Circle’s new line of business accounts and platform services.
“Circle has been a pioneer in the digital currency market, creating innovative products and services, and has consistently provided our industry with leadership in technology, standards and regulatory policy,” said Michel Moro, CEO of Genesis. “With the rapid increase in USDC, we are clearly seeing a dominant dynamic for digital currencies, and through this partnership with Circle, we believe we can materially advance our shared mission of building a new global financial system. “
“Digital Currency Group has been an incredible leader in growing the digital asset market, and Genesis has become a leading provider of crypto-finance,” said Jeremy Allaire, Chairman and CEO of Circle. “Combining Circle’s powerful capabilities with USDC payments and platform infrastructure for businesses, along with Genesis’ global institutional underwriting capabilities, will allow us to deliver significant value to businesses owning and using USDC. as part of their activities. “
Details and availability of new products and services made possible by this partnership will be announced later this year. On funding, Financial Technology Partners (“FT Partners”) served as Circle’s exclusive financial advisor.
About Cercle
Circle is a global financial technology company that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currency and blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications. Circle is the pioneer of USDC, the fastest growing regulated digital currency backed by the US dollar. There are currently over USDC 1.1 billion in circulation, while over $ 57 billion in online payments have been made with this revolutionary payment technology. Circle was founded in 2013 and operates with offices in Boston, new York, Dublin and London.
About the digital currency group
Digital Currency Group (DCG) is a global company that builds, buys and invests in blockchain companies all over the world. Founded in 2015 by the CEO Barry silbert, DCG is the most active investor in the blockchain sector, with a mission to accelerate the development of a better financial system through the proliferation of digital assets and blockchain technology.
Today, DCG sits at the epicenter of the industry, supporting more than 150 blockchain-related companies in 35 countries. DCG also invests directly in digital currencies and other digital assets.
In addition to its investment portfolio, DCG is the parent company of Genesis (a global digital asset brokerage firm), Grayscale Investments (the largest digital currency asset manager) and CoinDesk (a leading company in the media and events).
About Genesis
Genesis is the world’s first leading full-service digital currency broker. Backed by an expert team of seasoned trading professionals, Genesis provides investors with a convenient, robust and secure marketplace to hold, trade, borrow and lend digital currencies, creating new opportunities for returns while increasing capital efficiency. for our counterparts. Built on the only global OTC digital asset trading company registered with the SEC and FINRA, Genesis combines unmatched operational excellence, a seamless user experience and first-class customer service to deliver the full suite of asset services that global investors need. for their digital asset portfolios.
SOURCE Circle Internet Financial, Inc.