“Can Circle become the de facto global stablecoin settlement layer — making USDC/EURC as ubiquitous for cross-border institutional payments as SWIFT is for correspondent banking?”
Founded in 2013 as a Bitcoin consumer payments app, Circle pivoted away from retail crypto trading after launching USDC in 2018 to focus entirely on B2B stablecoin infrastructure. The company shut down its consumer Circle Pay product circa 2020 and abandoned a SPAC deal in 2022 before refiling for a traditional IPO. By 2024–2025, Circle had repositioned as a publicly traded stablecoin issuer and payments network operator — operating USDC, EURC, and USYC while building Circle Payments Network (CPN) as a global stablecoin settlement rail connecting banks, PSPs, and enterprises.
ShopifyCircle discloses BNY Mellon (reserve custodian / banking partner, in-house stablecoin issuance via Circle Internet Financial, LLC (self-operated)) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Circle has applied for a national trust bank charter for First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. (Circle National Trust) with the OCC. Status: approved (2026-07-10). Until then its banking services run through BNY Mellon (reserve custodian / banking partner, in-house stablecoin issuance via Circle Internet Financial, LLC (self-operated)).
Circle uses Nium for FX and cross-border payouts.
Circle's crypto products run on BNY Mellon.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 5 layers in Circle's stack: Banking / BaaS (BNY Mellon (reserve custodian / banking partner, in-house stablecoin issuance via Circle Internet Financial, LLC (self-operated))); Lending (Credit API — Line of Credit (draw and repayment in USDC via Circle Mint) and Credit API — Settlement Advance (reserve funds disbursed against wire proof)); Unified APIs (Nium); FX & payouts (Nium); Crypto (BNY Mellon).
Circle was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville and is founded in 2013, headquartered in New York City, United States.
Circle has raised ~$1.1B (pre-IPO) in total (latest round: IPO (NYSE: CRCL), June 2025; valuation: ~$18B post-IPO pricing (June 2025)).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Circle and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.