STORM Partners Details USDC Integration at Paris Blockchain Week

**Circle's leadership recognized on global stage** Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle, has been honored as one of TIME Magazine's Most Influential People of the year. The recognition was celebrated at the TIME100 Gala. **Key points:** - Allaire leads Circle, a major stablecoin issuer in the digital asset space - The TIME100 list recognizes individuals making significant impact across industries - This acknowledgment highlights growing mainstream recognition of digital currency leaders Circle has been working toward becoming a publicly traded company while expanding its stablecoin operations and forming strategic partnerships in the financial technology sector.

Korean won foreign exchange markets are transitioning to blockchain infrastructure through KRWQ and IQAI, using USDC as the settlement layer. **Key developments:** - Trading costs reduced by **50-75%** compared to traditional KRW non-deliverable forward (NDF) markets - Creates more transparent and accessible KRW-USD market structure - KRWQ paired with USDC enables deeper liquidity pools - Tighter spreads improve price formation - Expands institutional distribution channels The onchain approach addresses inefficiencies in traditional Korean won trading by leveraging stablecoin infrastructure for settlement and liquidity. [Read the full case study](https://www.circle.com/case-studies/krwq)

Circle is positioning itself as the **Economic OS for the internet** as autonomous agents begin to replace human-driven transactions. In a recent podcast appearance, Circle's Chief Product & Technology Officer outlined the company's approach to supporting billions of coordinating agents: - **USDC nanopayments** enabling sub-cent transactions - **Arc mainnet launch** coming soon - **Multi-protocol support** across x402, MPP, AP2, and additional protocols This builds on Circle's recent infrastructure expansions, including crosschain forwarding to Solana and Gateway's sub-500ms transfer speeds across 15+ blockchains. The strategy addresses a core challenge: while international calls became nearly free, cross-border money movement remains costly and slow. Circle aims to change that by creating financial rails designed for autonomous, internet-scale transactions rather than human-initiated payments. [Read the full recap](http://www.circle.com/blog/building-the-financial-rails-for-the-agentic-economy)

Circle has announced a partnership with OSL Group to expand USDC access across trading and payments in global markets, with a focus on Hong Kong. **Key Details:** - The collaboration brings digital dollar infrastructure into institutional workflows - Supports 1:1 USD/USDC conversions and capital-efficient trading - Aims to strengthen digital dollar liquidity in Hong Kong and beyond - Builds on Circle's strategy of partnering with major platforms to expand USDC reach This follows Circle's previous partnership with OKX to deepen USDC liquidity for 60M+ users worldwide. [Read the full announcement](http://www.circle.com/pressroom/osl-group-and-circle-announce-partnership-to-expand-access-to-usdc-in-global-markets)