Circle targets 40 emerging markets as USDC volume tops Tether

Circle is pushing into roughly 40 developing markets across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, CEO Jeremy Allaire told Reuters on Friday. The expansion targets regions where businesses and individuals are increasingly using dollar-pegged tokens to access digital commerce.

Allaire spoke on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. He characterized the move as a shift from early blockchain adoption to mainstream scaling.

The geographic push coincides with a reversal in transaction dominance for Circle’s USDC stablecoin. While Tether’s USDt remains the largest dollar-backed stablecoin by market capitalization, USDC has overtaken it in actual money movement. According to analysts at Bernstein, USDC’s share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume climbed from about 40% in 2025 to more than 60% so far in 2026.

That volume surge reflects how stablecoins are being used. They no longer function primarily as trading pairs on crypto exchanges. Cross-border remittances, merchant settlements and corporate treasury operations now drive significant flow. Bernstein cited renewed momentum in crypto markets, greater U.S. regulatory clarity and tokenized capital markets as factors fueling the next phase of stablecoin growth. The firm also pointed to early signs of stablecoin use in payments made by AI agents — autonomous software executing financial transactions without human intervention.

Circle is restructuring its infrastructure to handle that load. On Sept. 8, Cointelegraph reported the company agreed to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments platform Tazapay in a $400 million all-stock deal expected to close in 2027. Buying an established payments network rather than building one from scratch signals Circle intends to compete directly with traditional wire services and fintech rails in the very markets Allaire outlined in Bangkok.

Tether still dominates total issuance, holding a massive lead in circulating supply. But raw market cap tells only part of the story. Transaction volume measures economic utility. If USDC continues capturing over 60% of adjusted volume, institutional preference is migrating toward Circle’s regulated framework.

Magazine: France is world’s most dangerous place for Bitcoiners: 90 attacks in 7 months