Circle is targeting approximately 40 emerging and developing markets across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, according to comments by chief executive Jeremy Allaire on October 16. Allaire cited rising demand for stablecoins and digital financial services as the company sets its geographic priorities, TokenPost reported.
The push comes as Circle builds out channels for moving money locally and internationally. A planned acquisition of Singapore-based payments platform Tazapay would bring a broader set of banking and fintech connections, while a renewed five-year agreement with Binance is aimed specifically at expanding USDC access in emerging markets.
Circle’s 40-market expansion target
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company is pursuing approximately 40 emerging and developing markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The countries involved and a timetable for entry have not been identified.
He framed the push as a response to demand for stablecoins and digital financial services. Circle’s approach combines distribution of USDC, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, through Binance with local payment infrastructure from the proposed acquisition of Singapore-based Tazapay.
The Tazapay deal is intended to expand Circle’s banking, fintech and payout-rail network and remains subject to the transaction’s terms and process.
Tazapay payment rails
Circle said in September that it had agreed to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments platform Tazapay, a proposed transaction that would add more than 60 banking and fintech partners and local payout rails covering more than 100 markets to its payments infrastructure, according to Circle’s investor relations announcement.
The coverage exceeds the roughly 40 emerging and developing markets cited by Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, but the company has not said that every Tazapay-covered market is part of that target. It also has not specified the payout corridors that would be used for USDC or when they would become available through Circle after the acquisition agreement.
In practical terms, the proposed deal would provide a link to local disbursement capability and relationships with banks and fintechs, reducing the need for Circle to build every connection directly.
Binance renews USDC distribution deal
Circle and Binance announced a new five-year commercial agreement on September 22 focused on expanding USDC access across emerging markets. Binance also made a $100 million strategic investment in Circle, the companies said in Circle’s announcement.
The partnership supplies a separate distribution route from the Tazapay transaction. Where Tazapay is intended to add payment infrastructure and local payout rails, Binance is an exchange partner whose renewed commercial agreement is explicitly tied to broader USDC access in the targeted regions.
While Circle did not disclose how the $100 million investment would be allocated or provide market-by-market rollout details for the five-year agreement, the deal places a sizable strategic investment alongside a long-duration commercial commitment as Circle pursues the expansion.
USDC volume and circulation
Circle’s reported second-quarter figures show transaction activity growing considerably faster than the stablecoin’s circulating supply. USDC circulation stood at $73.3 billion at the end of Q2 2026, a 19% year-on-year increase, while quarterly on-chain transaction volume reached $14.8 trillion, up 151%, according to Circle’s quarterly results.
Circulation measures USDC’s outstanding supply; on-chain transaction volume measures activity passing through blockchain networks during the quarter. Together, the figures describe different aspects of the stablecoin’s scale, but they do not by themselves show how much of that activity came from the emerging markets Circle is targeting. They nonetheless provide the backdrop for Circle’s focus on expanding access and payment rails.
More recent data on Circle’s transparency page showed $72.7 billion of USDC in circulation and $73.0 billion in reserves as of October 12. The reserve figure was therefore $0.3 billion higher than the reported circulation figure on that date, based on Circle’s transparency data.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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