Circle Eyes 40 Emerging Markets for USDC Payments, CEO Tells Reuters at IMF Meetings

Published October 18, 2026, 05:45 PKT. Based on Reuters' October 16, 2026 interview with Jeremy Allaire (primary source), CoinTelegraph's October 17, 2026 report (secondary source), and reporting from CoinOTAG and the LA Post (secondary sources).

Circle is making a major push to enter about 40 emerging and developing countries, co-founder, CEO and chairman Jeremy Allaire told Reuters on October 16, 2026, speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok. The world's largest regulated stablecoin issuer is betting that organic demand for stablecoins and digital utility among individuals and businesses wanting access to an internet-based economic system will drive the next wave of adoption across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Circle, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has not named the target countries and has published no service schedule, so the 40-market figure currently stands as a direction rather than a launch calendar.

The inflection point Allaire is betting on

"We're kind of going through an inflection point... a transition right now, and that transition is essentially moving from the early adopter phase of blockchain technology into the mainstream scaling phase," Allaire told Reuters reporter Selena Li in Bangkok. He framed the expansion as an answer to payment demand rather than a trading play, an emphasis that separates this program from earlier stablecoin distribution efforts. The timing, he argued, is set by regulation: the U.S. GENIUS Act is slated to take effect next January, and Allaire called that moment decisive. "When the Genius Act goes into law, the world will have legal digital dollars... That is a watershed moment," he said. Circle in July became one of the first stablecoin issuers to hold a federal bank charter.

The $500 million war chest

The expansion is not funded by ambition alone. Circle agreed in September to acquire Tazapay, a Singapore-based cross-border payments platform, in an all-stock deal worth $400 million, with the transaction scheduled to close in 2027, Reuters reported. It also secured a $100 million strategic investment from Binance. That puts roughly $500 million of deal-making behind the 40-market push, money aimed at buying payments distribution rather than trading liquidity. Tazapay's cross-border infrastructure would give Circle direct pipes into the same corridors Allaire named, while the Binance investment aligns the world's largest exchange with the USDC network.

Where USDC stands today

Circle's dollar-pegged USDC ranks second to Tether's USDT by market capitalization, holding roughly 25% of the global stablecoin market while USDT commands nearly 60%, according to figures Reuters cited. But the momentum metrics tilt toward Circle: Bernstein said USDC's share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose from about 40% in 2025 to more than 60% in 2026, CoinTelegraph reported, and USDC circulation rose 19% year over year to $73.3 billion in the second quarter. The story Circle wants investors and regulators to read is that trading-share gains are translating into payment rails, not just order-book volume.

Payments, not trading

CoinOTAG reported that USDC reached corporate payers through Circle's documented payment corridors in six regions before this plan: the United States, Brazil, Mexico, the European Economic Area, Singapore and Hong Kong. The 40-market push would carry USDC's payment and settlement business into roughly 40 emerging and developing markets, moving the token beyond its role as a dollar-linked asset quoted on every major order book and toward cross-border invoices and business-to-business settlement. The plan rests on the dollar peg surviving redemption, because a settlement token loses its use the moment a payer doubts the local-currency payout waiting at the other end, CoinOTAG noted. Circle has not named the target countries and has published no service schedule, so the 40-market figure currently stands as a direction rather than a launch calendar.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Reuters, October 16, 2026, primary source, by Selena Li in Bangkok: Jeremy Allaire, Circle co-founder, CEO and chairman, said the company is making a major push to enter about 40 emerging and developing countries, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings; "We're kind of going through an inflection point... moving from the early adopter phase of blockchain technology into the mainstream scaling phase"; organic demand for stablecoins across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East; $400 million all-stock acquisition of Singapore payments platform Tazapay scheduled to close in 2027; $100 million strategic investment from Binance; USDC circulation $73.3 billion in Q2, up 19% year over year; roughly 25% global stablecoin market share vs USDT near 60%; GENIUS Act slated to take effect next January, "When the Genius Act goes into law, the world will have legal digital dollars... That is a watershed moment"; Circle one of the first stablecoin issuers to hold a federal bank charter, obtained in July
• CoinTelegraph via TradingView, October 17, 2026, secondary source: Bernstein estimate that USDC's share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose from about 40% in 2025 to more than 60% in 2026
• CoinOTAG, secondary source: USDC reached corporate payers through Circle's documented payment corridors in six regions (United States, Brazil, Mexico, European Economic Area, Singapore, Hong Kong) before this plan; 40-market push framed as cross-border invoices and business-to-business settlement; Circle has not named the target countries and has published no service schedule, so the figure is a direction rather than a launch calendar
• LA Post, October 16, 2026, secondary source (Reuters syndication): Bangkok dateline, IMF and World Bank meetings context, "world's largest regulated stablecoin issuer" framing