Circle takes USDC to emerging markets

What happened

Circle, the company that issues the USDC stablecoin, plans to expand into dozens of emerging and developing markets, CoinDesk reported on 16 October, citing an interview that chief executive Jeremy Allaire gave to Reuters. The target regions are Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, where businesses and individuals increasingly use stablecoins for payments. On the same day, Circle published a breakdown of how its revenue is split, The Block reported.

Where Circle stands

For anyone searching for the stablecoin meaning: a stablecoin is a token designed to track a currency, and USDC tracks the US dollar. According to CoinDesk, USDC accounts for roughly a quarter of the stablecoin market, while Tether's USDT holds nearly 60%. Circle's push into new markets is partly about competing in places where USDT has been dominant.

CoinDesk listed several recent steps: Arc, Circle's payments-focused blockchain, launched in September, and Circle received approval for a US federal trust bank charter in July. Allaire credited clearer rules, including the US GENIUS Act, for wider adoption.

What Allaire said

Allaire described the industry as being at an "inflection point", moving from early adoption into a mainstream scaling phase, CoinDesk reported. He welcomed banks developing their own digital currencies and said, in CoinDesk's paraphrase, that the banking industry no longer controls the market. He also pointed to a newer use case: AI agents increasingly use USDC to make small payments for information and online services.

The revenue split

The Block reported that Circle said its revenue in the first half of 2026 was about $1.4 billion. Of that, $819 million went to USDC distribution partners and transaction costs, and about $473 million was reinvested in infrastructure, compliance and product development. Circle said it kept roughly 7 cents of net profit per dollar of revenue. It also said USDC's share of global stablecoin transaction volume reached about 77% in June, up from 60% a year earlier. These are Circle's own figures, and The Block did not break down the $819 million between partners and costs.

Why it matters for payments

Stablecoin payments are moving from crypto news into everyday business use in emerging markets, according to Allaire's account of demand in those regions. In parts of Asia, rules are developing at the same time; the stablecoin ordinance in Hong Kong is among the top Google suggestions there. For people and companies that receive dollars from abroad, the comparison is practical: how fast money arrives, how much it costs and how the exchange rate is set, the same questions anyone asks when picking a money transfer app.

What to watch next

Watch which markets Circle names first, whether local banking and payment partnerships follow, and how regulators in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East respond. Competition with USDT in those regions, and the share of revenue Circle keeps as it pays distribution partners, will also show how sustainable the model is.

What it means for ODIX Pay users

In the ODIX app you can buy USDT or USDC with a bank card. If you hold them, ODIX Earn places USDC or USDT with a professional strategy partner with no lock-up; returns vary and are not guaranteed. To move money between countries, money transfer shows the fee and exchange rate before you confirm. Availability depends on your country, and fees are shown in the app.