Circle is a global financial technology company and the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, Circle has evolved from a consumer payments app and Bitcoin exchange into a core infrastructure provider for the digital dollar economy.

USDC

USDC (USD Coin) is a fully reserved, dollar-backed stablecoin that maintains a 1:1 peg with the US dollar. Each USDC token is backed by cash and short-dated US Treasury bonds held in regulated financial institutions. Circle publishes monthly attestation reports from a major accounting firm verifying its reserves.

USDC is available on multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, and others. It is widely used in DeFi, cross-border payments, remittances, and as a trading pair on exchanges. With a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion, USDC is a cornerstone of the on-chain financial ecosystem.

Circle Platform

Circle offers infrastructure products for businesses building with digital dollars:

• Circle Mint — An API for institutional customers to mint and redeem USDC directly with Circle
• Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) — Enables native USDC transfers between supported blockchains without traditional bridging risks
• Programmable Wallets — Developer APIs for embedding wallet functionality into applications

Regulation and Compliance

Circle is one of the most compliance-focused companies in cryptocurrency. It is a licensed money transmitter in the US, holds an Electronic Money Institution license in the EU, and has obtained regulatory approvals in multiple jurisdictions. Circle has been a vocal advocate for stablecoin legislation and clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets.

Circle is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and is led by CEO Jeremy Allaire.

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