Circle and OKX Partner to Simplify Conversions Between USD and USDC

The 60 million global users of OKX’s crypto app will soon be able to more easily convert between U.S. dollars and USDC stablecoins and back on a one-to-one basis.

This enhanced capability will be enabled by a new partnership between OKX and Circle Internet Group, which issues USDC through a regulated affiliate, the companies said in a Wednesday (July 9) press release.

The partnership will deepen liquidity for USD-to-USDC and USDC-to-USD conversions, making these conversions easier across OKX products and services, according to the release.

It will also simplify on- and off-ramping via the companies’ mutual banking partners to facilitate OKX customers’ use of USDC for trading and payments, the release said.

The companies will also collaborate to teach users about the benefits of USDC and other digital currencies via educational and community engagement programs, per the release.

“By working together, we’re further improving the user experience across our platform while accelerating the adoption of stablecoins in everyday finance,” OKX Founder and CEO Star Xu said in the release.

Circle Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said in the release that there is growing demand for USDC from businesses and individuals.

“OKX is a preeminent leader in digital asset markets, and by extending USDC’s reach to OKX’s over 60 million global users, we are driving growth in digital asset markets while also building on and integrating with the wide range of innovative Web3 wallet and payments applications that OKX continues to pioneer,” Allaire said.

Allaire told Bloomberg Television in June that Circle sees opportunities to partner with a wide range of companies as stablecoin adoption grows.

Speaking about a week after Circle went public, Allaire said: “It’s a tremendous opportunity as the world connects to this new form of currency on the internet. We see tremendous opportunities to collaborate with major technology firms, major payments companies, major financial institutions, and we already do.”

As for OKX, Mastercard announced in April that it partnered with the company to launch the OKX Card, which will make it easier for stablecoin  users to access their funds. The companies will also explore other opportunities to help people engage with digital assets.