Circle plans push into about 40 developing markets, CEO Jeremy Allaire says

Stablecoin issuer Circle plans to enter about 40 emerging and developing countries, chief executive and chairman Jeremy Allaire told Reuters on Friday 16 October.

Allaire spoke on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. He said demand for stablecoins is rising in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

“We’re kind of going through an inflection point…a transition right now, and that transition is essentially moving from the early adopter phase of blockchain technology into the mainstream scaling phase,” he said.

Reuters reported that Circle’s expansion is backed by its $US400 million acquisition of Tazapay and a $100 million strategic investment from Binance. Circle holds about 25% of the global stablecoin market, and Tether’s USDT has nearly 60%, according to Reuters. USDC in circulation rose 19% from a year earlier to $73.3 billion in the second quarter.

Allaire said the US GENIUS Act, which Reuters said is due to take effect in January, would be “a watershed moment” because “the world will have legal digital dollars”.

He said banks moving to launch their own stablecoins was a sign of a healthy, competitive market. He also said payments between AI agents are adding to USDC use.

Allaire warned that the rapid growth of AI brings greater security risks for financial infrastructure providers. “If you’re not concerned about it, then your head is in the sand, right?” he said.