Overview
Circle is the issuer of USDC, the world’s second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin. Circle Japan distributes USDC in partnership with SBI Holdings under Japan’s Payment Services Act framework.
Recent Developments
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2026-08-04: Partnership with dinari for U.S. self-custody wallet trading of tokenized S&P 500 via usdc; Circle declined comment (earnings quiet period) per crypto.news (2026-08-04-fortune-dinari-circle-tokenized-stocks)
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2026-07-30: coinbase said USDC revenue-sharing agreement with Circle will auto-renew in August on same terms (earnings coverage) (2026-08-02-siliconangle-coinbase-q2-2026)
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Context 2026-07-31: Contrasted with tether Q2 attestation narrative — Circle NYDFS charter track vs Tether profit/reserve buffer story (tether-reserve-attestation-2026)
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2026-07-31: nydfs grants limited-purpose-trust-charter to circle-new-york-trust for fiduciary/custody under NY Banking Law — dual posture with July occ national trust (2026-07-31-circle-nydfs-trust-charter)
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2026-07-27: Acquires IBM blockchain patent portfolio (~1,000 patents / 680+ families); claims largest U.S. blockchain patent holder; terms undisclosed; supports USDC, CPN, arc-blockchain, agentic tools (2026-07-27-circle-ibm-patents-official)
Contradiction
“Largest U.S. blockchain patent holder” is Circle’s claim after the IBM portfolio transfer; pre-deal third-party rankings (e.g. PatSnap) still listed IBM among top holders. Deal value undisclosed — do not invent terms. See blockchain-patent-portfolios.
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2026-07-22: usdc appeared in samsung-wallet Unpacked demo UI (roadmap; not confirmed exclusive partnership) (2026-07-23-samsung-wallet-stablecoin-roadmap)
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2026-07-23: Separate MOUs with kakao Group and toss/Toss Bank to explore Korea stablecoin payment rails — exploratory, no KRW issuance announced (2026-07-23-circle-kakao-toss-yonhap)
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2026-07-10: Final OCC approval for Circle National Trust (First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A.) — federally supervised digital asset custody; ~$73B USDC; reserve management planned as future capability; CRCL +12–16% on news; GENIUS Act rules due July 18 (2026-07-11-circle-occ-final-approval-press-release, 2026-07-11-circle-occ-final-approval-coindesk)
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2026-07-02: standard-chartered partnership — first G-SIB bank-led USDC mint/redemption for institutional clients via DIFC; no separate Circle account required (2026-07-02-standard-chartered-circle-press-release)
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2026-06-30: open-standard unveiled Open USD with 140+ partners (Stripe, Coinbase, BlackRock, Visa); CRCL shares fell 12%+ as consortium yield-sharing model challenges USDC issuer economics (2026-06-30-open-usd-stablecoin-consortium-launch)
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Also dropped from five Russell Growth Indexes in June 2026 reconstitution (passive selling pressure)
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2026-06-25: Partnership with nomura for USDC corporate FX settlement service in Japan, target 2027 (2026-06-25-circle-nomura-usdc-japan-settlement)
Related
Sources
- 2026-06-25-circle-nomura-coindesk
- 2026-06-25-circle-nomura-usdc-japan-settlement
- 2026-06-30-open-usd-stablecoin-consortium-launch
- 2026-06-30-open-usd-coindesk
- 2026-07-02-standard-chartered-circle-press-release
- 2026-07-11-circle-occ-final-approval-press-release
- 2026-07-23-circle-kakao-toss-yonhap
- 2026-07-23-circle-kakao-toss-theblock
- 2026-07-27-circle-ibm-patents-official
- 2026-07-27-circle-ibm-blockchain-patents
- 2026-07-27-circle-ibm-patents-coindesk-detail