Circle Gateway Launches Nanopayments: Sub-Cent USDC Transfers for AI Agent Economy
Circle Gateway Launches Nanopayments: Sub-Cent USDC Transfers for AI Agent Economy
💸 Payments smaller than pennies
Circle has launched Nanopayments on mainnet, enabling gas-free USDC transfers as small as $0.000001 through Circle Gateway.
Key features:
- Gas-free transfers down to fractions of a cent
- Instant verification for high-frequency payments
- Unified liquidity across supported blockchains
The infrastructure targets AI agents, APIs, and machine-scale economies, enabling economic activity not feasible on traditional payment rails. This follows Circle Gateway surpassing $1B in total transfer volume and expanding crosschain forwarding to Solana and 15+ other blockchains.
Circle is positioning itself as the "Economic OS for the internet" with a multi-protocol approach (x402, MPP, AP2) as the economy shifts from human-driven to agent-driven transactions.
Circle Gateway has surpassed $1B in total transfer volume. As more builders and businesses operate across chains, unified liquidity is becoming a bigger part of how value moves.
Crosschain forwarding to @solana is now live for Circle Gateway. Gateway enables chain-agnostic USDC balances that can be spent in <500 ms crosschain, or programmatically batched to facilitate sub-cent agentic nanopayments. Circle’s forwarding service automates
Nanopayments powered by Circle Gateway is now live. This gives builders a new financial rail for agentic economy: → Gas-free USDC transfers down to $0.000001 → Instant verification for high-frequency payments → Unified liquidity across supported chains via Circle Gateway For
The internet is shifting from human clicks to autonomous agents, and eventually to billions of agents coordinating and exchanging value. Our Chief Product & Technology Officer @chandhok joined @cuysheffield and @bamazizimesh on @TokenizedPod to unpack Circle’s strategy for the
🔗 USDC Expands to Injective
Circle's USDC stablecoin and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) are now operational on Injective, a blockchain optimized for trading and DeFi applications. **Key Features:** - DeFi traders can use USDC for spot and perpetuals trading - CCTP enables fast transfers between blockchains with 24/7 settlement - USDC functions as collateral on Injective's financial infrastructure **Network Growth:** With this integration, USDC now operates on 34 blockchains and transfers across 23 chains via CCTP, creating over 500 transaction routes. This follows a similar expansion to Pharos Network in late April, which added support for real-world asset (RWA) applications and included a $10 million incubation program. More details: [circle.com/blog](http://www.circle.com/blog/now-available-native-usdc-cctp-on-injective)
USYC Tokenized Money Market Fund Surpasses $3 Billion in Assets
**USYC has crossed the $3 billion mark in assets under management**, representing a 50% increase from the $2 billion milestone reached in March 2026. This growth reflects: - Accelerating adoption of tokenized money market funds - Increasing use of onchain collateral in digital asset markets - Sustained institutional interest in blockchain-based financial products The fund's trajectory from $2 billion to $3 billion in under two months demonstrates the maturation of tokenized treasury products as a core infrastructure component in the digital asset ecosystem.
Circle Partners with Lighter to Make USDC Default Stablecoin for Trading and Settlement
Circle has announced a partnership with Lighter, establishing USDC as the default and preferred stablecoin across Lighter's platform. **Key Integration Points:** - Spot and perpetual trading - Settlement operations - Liquidations - Onboarding flows The partnership positions USDC as core infrastructure as onchain markets continue to expand. This follows Circle's recent collaboration with OSL Group to broaden USDC access in institutional trading and payments globally, including support for 1:1 USD/USDC conversions and capital-efficient settlement. The move reflects growing demand for reliable dollar-backed infrastructure in decentralized trading environments.
Mt Pelerin Scales Stablecoin On/Offramps with Circle Mint Integration
Mt Pelerin has integrated Circle Mint to improve its self-custodial fiat on/offramp infrastructure for USDC and EURC. **Key improvements:** - Faster, more predictable institutional-grade liquidity for cash-ins and cashouts - More reliable OTC execution - Streamlined mint and redeem workflows The integration addresses a critical challenge in self-custodial on/offramps: ensuring liquidity is available when customers need it. By leveraging Circle Mint's infrastructure, Mt Pelerin can offer more consistent service for users converting between fiat and stablecoins. This builds on Circle Mint's expansion in 2025, which introduced near-instant euro-to-USDC conversion with competitive FX rates for European Economic Area fintechs and payment providers. [Read the full case study](https://www.circle.com/case-studies/mt-pelerin)
Circle Backs OCC's Stablecoin Framework Under GENIUS Act
Circle has submitted a comment letter supporting the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) proposed licensing regime for U.S. dollar payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act. The company endorses the OCC's approach, calling it a **"robust and highest-bar standards"** framework that aims to create uniform, prudentially sound regulations for digital dollar payments. This follows Circle's previous November 2025 response to the U.S. Treasury's request for public comment on implementing the GENIUS Act, where they outlined recommendations for a consistent regulatory framework. The GENIUS Act represents a significant regulatory milestone for stablecoins in the United States, establishing formal oversight for digital dollar payment systems. [Read Circle's full comment letter](http://www.circle.com/blog/circle-submits-comment-letter-on-proposed-genius-licensing-regime)