Circle Eyes 40 Developing Markets as Stablecoin Demand Grows

Circle is looking to enter about 40 developing markets, according to its CEO and chairman, Jeremy Allaire. Speaking to Reuters on Friday at the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, he said the industry is moving from an early adopter phase into a mainstream scaling phase. Demand is rising across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East as businesses and individuals look to join the internet based economic system.

USDC Growth Outlook

Analysts at Bernstein said on Aug. 24 that a new growth cycle for USDC could give Circle a strong lift over the next 12 months. They named several possible drivers, including a stronger crypto market, clearer US regulation, tokenized capital markets and wider use of stablecoins in payments. Early signs of payments by AI agents were also noted.

USDC vs USDT Transaction Share

USDC is still the second largest dollar backed stablecoin by market cap, well behind Tether’s USDT. On transaction activity, though, it has moved ahead. Bernstein said USDC’s share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume climbed from about 40% in 2025 to over 60% so far in 2026.