Circle emerging markets expansion targets 40 new countries

Circle emerging markets expansion is the next leg of the USDC issuer's growth plan. Speaking to Reuters at the IMF and World Bank gathering in Bangkok, chief executive Jeremy Allaire said Circle plans to move into about 40 emerging and developing economies, citing rising organic demand across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. On the same day, Circle published a breakdown of how its revenue flows to partners.

What happened

Allaire said blockchain technology is moving "from the early adopter phase" into "the mainstream scaling phase," according to CoinDesk, which put the target closer to 50 markets in its own write-up. Decrypt reported that USDC circulation rose 19% year on year to $73.3 billion in the second quarter, giving it about a quarter of the stablecoin market against roughly 60% for Tether's USDT.

Circle has tools for the push. Its $400 million deal for Singapore payments firm Tazapay brings local banking and payout links in over 100 markets, and it launched its own payments blockchain, Arc. Decrypt, citing Reuters, said BlackRock, Visa and Standard Chartered have taken up Arc, and that Binance made a $100 million strategic investment in Circle.

In a Friday blog post summarized by The Block, Circle said it generated about $1.4 billion of revenue in the first half of 2026, paid $819 million to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, and reinvested about $473 million in infrastructure, compliance and product. It said it kept roughly 7 cents of net profit per dollar of revenue.

Why it matters

The disclosure is a reply to newer issuers arguing incumbents keep too much of the reserve income. Circle's message is that most revenue already leaves the building, and that what stays funds the plumbing. Chief operating officer Kash Razzaghi wrote that the reinvestment "is not overhead" but what makes USDC useful.

Emerging markets are where USDT has traditionally dominated, so the Circle emerging markets expansion is a direct challenge to Tether on its home turf. Circle said USDC handled more than $36 trillion of onchain volume and about 77% of global stablecoin transaction volume in June, up from 60% a year earlier, a sign that activity share and supply share are diverging.

Regulation is the other tailwind. Allaire called the GENIUS Act, due to take effect in January, "a watershed moment," and USDC has just been designated a significant e-money token in the EU after an earlier MiCA review of its reserves.

What's next

The Circle emerging markets expansion will be judged on local partners and payout corridors more than country counts. Circle reports third-quarter results on Nov. 4, which will show whether reserve income or distribution costs are moving that 7-cent margin. Investors will also look for a timeline on the Tazapay deal and the first named countries in the rollout.

Allaire also warned that AI is raising security risks for financial infrastructure. "If you're not concerned about it, then your head is in the sand," he said, a reminder that faster growth into new markets also widens the attack surface.