Stablecoin issuer Circle says it has officially launched in Brazil.
The expansion into South America’s largest country gives Circle the chance to offer its popular USD Coin to new users, the company said Wednesday (May 29).
“The move comes at a time of exponential fintech adoption resulting from pro-innovation policies and initiatives, such as the 2020 introduction of the instant payment platform Pix,” Circle said in a news release. “Pix has over 160 million users today who are familiar with digital wallets and efficient financial rails.”
As part of its rollout in Brazil, Circle has joined forces with BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latin America, to serve as its direct USDC distribution partner in Brazil.
That means the bank will provide USDC to its retail and institutional clients, while also onboarding new clients who wish to access USDC. The partnership will equip USDC with local banking rail capabilities to let businesses mint and redeem digital dollars.
“We are committed to making a positive impact in the Brazilian market and partnering with key stakeholders to empower businesses to participate in the global economy with greater ease and efficiency,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO at Circle. “There are many powerful opportunities on the horizon when Brazil’s fintech-forward ecosystem converges with the world’s most accessible dollar platform.”
Last month, Visa’s new stablecoin transaction metric found that UDSC had begun to exceed Tether in terms of stablecoin transaction volume. Tether had long been seen as the sector’s top stablecoin, having more than three times the share of coins in circulation compared to USDC.
But according to Visa and its partner Allium Labs, USDC had seen $456 billion in transaction volume in the week before the report, compared with $89 billion for Tether’s USDT stablecoin. USDC had also made up half of total transactions since the year began.
Writing about the use of stablecoins last month, PYMNTS noted that these coins allow businesses to “access instant settlement and liquidity without relying on intermediary banks or payment processors. This can optimize cash flow management and reduce reliance on traditional banking infrastructure.
“And the fact that every transaction conducted using stablecoins is recorded on the blockchain, providing an immutable audit, can help CFOs and treasurers enhance compliance, reduce fraud, and streamline auditing,” that report added.