Circle Signals Plans to Bring USDC to Australia With Venture Capitalist Mark Carnegie

• Circle has signaled plans to bring its USDC stablecoin into Australia and beyond.

• The stablecoin giant has partnered with venture capitalist Mark Carnegie.

Circle has signaled its plans to bring its stablecoin USDC to Australia and beyond with the unveiling of a partnership with venture capitalist Mark Carnegie’s MHC Digital Group, the companies announced on Tuesday.

The partnership appears set to cover the Asia Pacific region since Carnegie’s company has offices in Australia and Singapore aiming to increase the distribution of USDC in the region and “exploring institutional use cases.”

“With its young, mobile-first and digital wallet ready population, the Asia Pacific region is ahead of the curve when it comes to digital asset adoption,” said Chief Business Officer for Circle Kash Razzaghi. “We are excited to work with MHC Digital to pave the way for a new era in digital finance in Australia and beyond.”

Circle’s expansion has been evident in recent times as it moved its headquarters to New York City’s iconic One World Trade Center, ahead of its planned initial public offering at a valuation of around $5 billion. Earlier this month, its USDC stablecoin was made available to investors in Mexico and Brazil, through the banking system, not just through crypto exchanges. It also became the first global stablecoin issuer to get licensed to offer dollar- and euro-pegged crypto tokens in the European Union (EU).

Circle’s USDC, the second-largest stablecoin behind Tether’s USDT, has a market cap of $35 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $7.87 billion, according to CoinDesk price data.

Carnegie’s MHC Digital Group will work with Circle to provide USDC access to wholesale clients across Australia. The move could help superannuation funds avoid big bank fees and the partnership may extend to creating an Australian dollar stablecoin in the future, Carnegie told The Australian Financial Review.

“People claim there is no use case for crypto, yet hundreds of billions move globally at a fraction of the cost of traditional payment infrastructure, said Founder and Executive Chairman of MHC Digital Group Mark Carnegie. “Crypto is simply a better mouse trap for the vast majority of international payments. Circle is the obvious candidate to be the long-term winner in the regulated stablecoin space, and we are very excited to work together to expand access to USDC in Australia and beyond.”