Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, plans to enter about 40 new emerging and developing markets — a push that includes Africa — as demand for on-chain payments and digital dollars increases, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Jeremy Allaire told Reuters.

Allaire made the remarks on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. He said the stablecoin industry is transitioning from early adoption toward mainstream use, driven by individuals and businesses seeking access to internet-based financial services.

Circle Plans Expansion Into 40 New Markets

is accelerating its international expansion through a $400 million acquisition of payments company TazaPay, a leading Asian local payments platform. Separately, a $100 million strategic investment by Binance into Circle also signals the growing adoption of USDC within emerging markets where Binance is popular. For readers newer to the sector, stablecoins such as USDC are blockchain-based tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar, and they are often used in emerging markets as a way to access dollar-denominated value where local banking options fall short. How quickly the TazaPay acquisition translates into availability across the 40 markets will be a key measure of the strategy's execution.

USDC Circulation Up 19% Year-on-Year

Circle holds about 25% of the global stablecoin market, compared with nearly 60% for Tether's USDT, according to the report. USDC circulation increased 19% year-on-year to $73.3 billion in the second quarter of 2026. The figures put the competitive distance between the two issuers in perspective as Circle pushes deeper into emerging markets.

Regulatory Developments Support Adoption

Circle became one of the first stablecoin issuers to obtain a U.S. federal bank charter in July 2026, after receiving final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank. In the United States, the GENIUS Act is expected to establish a clearer regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins. In Europe, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has classified USDC as the first significant e-money token in the European Union. These milestones matter for adoption, because regulated institutions generally require clear oversight and compliant counterparts before integrating stablecoins into their operations — and the implementation of the GENIUS Act and the EU framework will be closely watched as the rulebook takes final shape on both sides of the Atlantic.

Institutions Move Beyond Pilot Projects

Allaire said financial institutions and payment companies are increasingly moving beyond pilot projects to use stablecoins for cross-border settlements and asset transfers. Circle's Arc infrastructure is being used by firms including asset manager BlackRock, payments company Visa, and banking group Standard Chartered. Participation from firms of this stature is one of the clearest markers yet of the mainstream transition Allaire described.

He also pointed to growing demand for USDC in machine-to-machine payments, as artificial intelligence agents make small transactions to access online services and real-time data.

Circle's progress in agentic payments was highlighted in an October 14, 2026 post on X:

$USDC issuer, #Circle, says it has now processed over 165 million transactions with 80,000 agents participating. “This is only a start.” – @circle

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) October 14, 2026

Source: BitKE on X

AI Expansion Brings Cybersecurity Risks

However, Allaire warned that the expansion of AI is creating new cybersecurity risks, including threats from sophisticated attackers and automated networks of AI agents.

His comments were first reported by Reuters.