# Circle Targets 40 New Markets in Its Push to Make USDC Everyday Money

> The company behind USDC is building out the bank connections, local payouts and payment services that could put digital dollars to work far beyond crypto trading.

By Lidia Yadlos · October 16, 2026

Canonical: https://blockster.com/circle-usdc-40-new-markets

Circle wants a bigger role in how businesses move money around the world.

The USDC issuer is targeting roughly **40 emerging and developing markets**, CEO Jeremy Allaire told [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/technology/stablecoin-issuer-circle-push-into-40-new-markets-ceo-says-2026-10-16/) on Friday. Speaking in Bangkok during the IMF and World Bank meetings, he pointed to demand across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

The opportunity sits inside ordinary business transactions: paying a supplier overseas, collecting money from a customer abroad, or moving funds between offices. For USDC to become useful in those moments, it needs connections to the banks and currencies businesses already use.

Circle’s recent moves show where it is putting that work.

## A Digital Dollar Still Needs a Local Bank

In September, Circle [agreed to acquire Tazapay](https://investor.circle.com/news/news-details/2026/Circle-Expands-Global-Payments-Infrastructure-with-Agreement-to-Acquire-Singapore-Based-Cross-Border-Payments-Platform-Tazapay/), a Singapore company that helps payment providers and financial institutions move money across borders.

Tazapay brings a network with **60-plus banking and fintech partners**, local payouts across **more than 100 markets**, and **over $25 billion in annualized payment volume**, measured as of July 31. Circle says approximately **60% of Tazapay’s transaction volume** already involves stablecoins.

Those relationships give Circle a route from a USDC transfer to money a recipient can use locally. A supplier may want dollars to cross the border and local currency to arrive in its bank account.

> “Stablecoin settlement is becoming core infrastructure in the global economy.”
>
> — Jeremy Allaire, Circle co-founder and CEO, announcing the Tazapay agreement

Tazapay has worked with Circle Payments Network since 2025. The acquisition is expected to close in **2027**, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

[Post from @circle on X](https://twitter.com/circle/status/2097278778762313840)

## More Places to Spend a $73 Billion Digital Dollar

USDC ended June with **$73.3 billion in circulation**, up **19% year over year**, according to Circle’s [second-quarter results](https://www.circle.com/pressroom/circle-reports-second-quarter-2026-results).

Its payment network is growing alongside it. Circle Payments Network had **175 financial institutions enrolled** at quarter-end, up **29%** from the previous quarter. Its final 30 days of activity implied an annualized transaction volume of **$14.7 billion**, a **76%** quarterly increase.

For Circle, wider payment use could give businesses more reasons to acquire USDC, hold it and use it again. A company that settles supplier invoices in the token becomes a recurring customer for the surrounding payment services.

That is the business opportunity behind the expansion: making USDC part of the routine.

## The Next Customer Could Be an Agent

Circle is also building for software that spends money.

In its August earnings announcement, the company said its Agent Stack, launched in May, already supported **more than 900 paid services**. The product gives its payments strategy another potential audience: agents buying access to tools and information.

[Post from @circle on X](https://twitter.com/circle/status/2053897932731285627)

That connects with the everyday uses MoonPay’s Halsey Huth described in [Blockster’s recent interview](https://blockster.com/moonpay-wants-your-ai-to-pick-up-the-tab). An agent planning a trip might use a small USDC payment to purchase information, then complete the airline booking with a card.

The payment technology can sit quietly behind the task. The customer gets the research, the reservation or the completed transfer.

Circle’s expansion puts that same idea to work at a larger scale. The closer USDC gets to the accounts and services businesses already rely on, the easier it becomes to use a digital dollar without reorganizing the business around it.