International Payments in USDC: Challenge to Visa

Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, with a market capitalisation of $60 billion, expects its new product to compete with industry leaders.

The issuer of the stablecoin USDC, Circle, is launching a new network for cross-border payments and money transfers, writes Coindesk. According to the publication's sources, the project is positioned as a potential competitor to Visa and Mastercard.

On 22 April, an event dedicated to the launch of the payment network will be held at Circle's headquarters on the 87th floor of the World Trade Center in New York. According to the invitation, viewed by journalists, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire will share his vision of the company's next step in stablecoin payments.

The stablecoins are tokens cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to an asset, such as the dollar, the euro or an ounce of gold. Companies use securities, national currencies or other cryptocurrencies to anchor the rate to the underlying asset.

The stablecoin market has entered a new phase of development since the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

A few days after his inauguration in January this year, he signed an executive order to regulate the cryptocurrency market, entitled "Strengthening US Leadership in Digital Finance".

According to the document, a working group will develop mechanisms "to promote the development and growth of legitimate, dollar-backed stablecoins."

At the end of April, the leading stablecoins on the market are USDT by Tether and USDC by Circle. These cryptocurrencies occupy the first and second places respectively in terms of capitalisation among stablecoins, with $144 billion and $60 billion.

When Circle started its business in 2013, it specialised in online payments and promoted Bitcoin as a means of payment. Its first product was the CirclePay application for trading Bitcoin and fiat currencies. In 2018, the Centre Consortium - a partnership between Circle and exchange Coinbase - launched the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin. The consortium was later dissolved and Circle became the sole operator of USDC.

Now the company is back in the payments business. According to the report, the launch event for the new network will be aimed at banks, fintech companies, payment service providers, remittance companies and USDC strategic partners.

"Circle is launching a payments network initially focused on remittances, but intending to eventually compete with Mastercard and Visa," a source close to the company's plans told the publication.

Growing Adoption of Stablecoins and Concerns in Europe

The stablecoins are being adopted into everyday life faster than any other cryptocurrency. The number of stablecoin users has increased by more than 50% in one year, according to the report The State of Stablecoins 2025: Supply, Adoption & Market Trends by analytical services Artemis and Dune. The report also states that, by 2024, stablecoins will become a bridge between the traditional and crypto markets, becoming a key component of digital finance.

In the meantime, the European Union sees stablecoins pegged to the dollar as a threat. Of their total capitalisation (about $233 billion), the majority (over $220 billion) are dollar tokens. In Europe, it is noted that such assets could become an alternative to bank accounts and cause a capital flight from the traditional financial system.

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