Circle Partners with Crossmint to Expand USDC Stablecoin Across AI and Global Payments

Introduction

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has partnered with crypto infrastructure provider Crossmint to expand USDC usage across multiple blockchain rails. The collaboration integrates Crossmint Wallets and APIs for onramps, payments, and orchestration, enabling both humans and AI agents to transact seamlessly with digital dollars. Circle highlighted that this partnership lays the groundwork for a “new era of finance” where money moves instantly and globally. The push reflects growing interest in AI-powered financial applications, with developers predicting that AI agents could become major users of stablecoins for activities like automated e-commerce and publishing.

Beyond artificial intelligence, the partnership also expands access for people in countries suffering from inflation and unstable currencies. For example, Argentina’s population increasingly relies on stablecoins to preserve wealth, while MoneyGram’s new crypto payments app—built with Crossmint’s infrastructure—is offering Colombians access to USDC as an alternative to the weakening peso. MoneyGram’s 50 million customers across 190 countries signal a massive potential expansion of Circle’s stablecoin ecosystem. Stablecoins like USDC and USDT provide essential financial lifelines for those locked out of reliable banking, underscoring their growing role in everyday payments.

However, Tether’s USDT still dominates global usage. With nearly $100 billion in daily trading volume and a market cap of $173 billion, USDT far outpaces USDC’s $74 billion. USDT’s popularity is notably strong in developing countries, bolstered by its presence on the Tron blockchain, which facilitates fast, low-cost transfers. Still, Circle’s push through partnerships like Crossmint and MoneyGram signals its ambition to scale USDC adoption for both human users and AI-driven financial systems. This strategy positions Circle as a key competitor in the global stablecoin adoption race, balancing consumer payments, enterprise use cases, and future AI-powered economies.

Background

Stablecoin issuer Circle has announced a new partnership with crypto infrastructure company Crossmint to expand the reach of its USDC stablecoin across more blockchain networks. This collaboration aims to strengthen USDC’s role in both human financial transactions and the emerging field of AI-powered payments, a frontier many analysts believe will reshape the global digital economy.

Why This Partnership Matters

Circle, best known as the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has been working to position its dollar-pegged stablecoin as a secure, compliant alternative for global transactions. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, stablecoins are digital assets pegged to the value of a fiat currency (usually the U.S. dollar), making them less volatile and more useful for payments and savings.

By integrating Crossmint Wallets and APIs (application programming interfaces), Circle plans to make it easier for both developers and businesses to build with USDC. This includes onramps that let users purchase stablecoins with traditional money, crypto custody solutions for secure storage, and orchestration tools that allow for automated payments. Crossmint also brings support tailored to AI agents—software applications capable of executing transactions autonomously. According to researchers at Coinbase, AI agents could soon become “Ethereum’s biggest power users,” leveraging stablecoins for tasks like subscription management, microtransactions, and even self-driving vehicles paying for services in real time (Coinbase Dev Blog).

Stablecoins as a Lifeline in Emerging Markets

Circle’s move isn’t just about future-looking AI—it has major implications for everyday people too. In countries suffering from high inflation and weak local currencies, stablecoins like USDC are increasingly being used as a dollar alternative. For example, in Argentina, where inflation surpassed 140% in 2023 (IMF), people often buy stablecoins in unofficial “crypto caves” to preserve their savings. Similarly, Colombia recently became a testing ground for MoneyGram’s new wallet app, which is built on Crossmint’s infrastructure and enables locals to store and transfer USDC as an alternative to their devaluing peso (Cointelegraph).

MoneyGram already serves 50 million customers in over 190 countries, meaning Circle’s partnership with Crossmint could provide millions with easier access to dollar-backed stablecoins. This represents a huge potential market for crypto adoption in emerging economies, where traditional banking systems remain inaccessible or unstable.

Competition: USDC vs. USDT

Despite Circle’s progress, Tether (USDT) continues to dominate the stablecoin market. As of September 2025, Tether has a market cap of $173 billion—over twice the size of USDC’s $74 billion—and processes 10 times the daily trading volume (CoinGecko). Tether’s popularity is driven largely by its use on the Tron blockchain, which offers fast, low-cost stablecoin transfers, particularly attractive in developing economies where remittances and payments need to be cheap and instant.

Circle and its partners are betting that regulatory compliance, transparency, and integrations with major platforms like MoneyGram, Stripe-backed Tempo, and AI-driven payment systems will help USDC close the gap. Unlike Tether, which has faced ongoing concerns about reserve transparency, Circle issues monthly attestation reports to reassure users that each USDC is backed 1:1 by liquid reserves (Circle Transparency Reports).

The Bigger Picture

The Circle–Crossmint partnership reflects a broader trend: stablecoins are becoming more than just trading tools for crypto investors. They’re evolving into a critical layer of global finance, enabling faster payments, powering AI-driven commerce, and serving as lifelines in economies plagued by currency crises.

With USDC now targeting both human users and machine-based economic actors, Circle is signaling its intention to compete head-on with Tether while preparing for the future of AI-native finance. If adoption continues, stablecoins could eventually become the backbone of a more inclusive, decentralized, and efficient global economy.