🔗 USDC Expands to Pharos

**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.

**STORM Partners** presented at Paris Blockchain Week about their practical implementation of USDC through the **Circle Alliance Program**. - The firm joined Circle's Alliance Program in July 2025, becoming part of a global community focused on bringing the world on-chain - As Alliance members, STORM Partners collaborates with protocols and institutions to build with USDC - The presentation showcased real-world applications of their USDC integration The Circle Alliance Program connects teams working to enable an on-chain economy powered by USDC stablecoin.

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)