Circle introduces USDC in Brazil and Mexico via local payment systems

Mila September 17, 2024

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Key Takeaways

USDC can now be accessed directly using Brazilian Reais and Mexican Pesos.
Integration with PIX and SPEI speeds up transactions in Brazil and Mexico.

Circle announced today it has expanded access to the US Dollar Coin (USDC), its flagship product, in Brazil and Mexico, through their national real-time payment systems PIX and SPEI. The move aims to make USDC more accessible, faster, and cheaper for businesses and consumers in these Latin American markets.

The company has partnered with leading banks in both countries to enable direct conversion of their local fiat currencies, Brazilian Reais (BRL) and Mexican Pesos (MXN), into USDC. This eliminates the need for international wire transfers, drastically reducing transaction time and costs, Circle stated.

“Businesses can now access USDC – the world’s largest regulated* digital dollar – directly from local financial institutions in two G20 economies without needing to wire funds to a bank overseas. They can use USDC for their own corporate purposes and offer it as an option to their own retail customers,” Circle noted.

This integration is particularly beneficial to Latin American businesses engaged in cross-border trade, as USDC can be used for transactions in dollar-denominated markets. Plus, it offers a more cost-effective alternative to traditional remittances, which often incur high fees.

Circle’s expansion into Brazil and Mexico is part of its broader strategy to make USDC more accessible globally. The company plans to continue expanding its partnerships with banks and payment systems around the world to meet growing demand for digital currencies.

The latest development comes shortly after Circle and Sony Block Solutions Labs announced a partnership to bring USDC on Soneium, Sony’s Ethereum layer-2 blockchain. The two entities aim to make the stablecoin a primary token for value exchanges on the platform.

USDC holds nearly 28% market share of USD-pegged Ethereum stablecoins and is the sixth largest crypto asset with a market capitalization of $35.5 billion as of September 16.