By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 24th, 2024
Allaire referred to the funding as a milestone moment for Circle. He said the round is part of the “coming of age” of crypto as Circle continues to target the mainstream adoption of USDC.
USDC operator Circle Internet Financial has concluded a $400 million funding on the 12th of April. In an announcement, the company said it has entered, expecting investments from BlackRock Inc, Fidelity Management and Research, Fin Capital, and Marshall Wace LLP. Circle revealed that the funding round would expectedly close in the second quarter. One of the investors, BlackRock, has signed a broader strategic collaboration with Circle. BlackRock is now the primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves. The investment company will also explore capital market applications for its stablecoin.
Circle to Further Strategic Growth with $400M Funding
Upon successful closure of the funding, Circle will be able to further support its strategic growth. This will be fueled by the growing global demand for digital dollar currency and other financial services.
The co-founder and CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, commented on the funding round. He said:
“Dollar digital currencies like USDC are fueling a global economic transformation and Circle’s technology infrastructure sits at the center of that change. This funding round will drive the next evolution of Circle’s growth. It’s particularly gratifying to add BlackRock as a strategic investor in the company. We look forward to developing our partnership.”
The CEO also told TechCrunch that its “strategic partnership: with BlackRock will enable it to survey new use cases for USDC. Allaire said Circle will explore ways that the stablecoin will serve as an “efficient resource in the financial services value chain.”
Allaire referred to the funding as a milestone moment for Circle. He said the round is part of the “coming of age” of crypto as Circle continues to target the mainstream adoption of USDC. The CEO said Circle would continue to focus on adopting and using USDC and blockchain technology for commerce, payments, and other financial applications.
The USDC Stablecoin
In 2018, the Centre Consortium, founded by Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Circle, issued its USD Coin (USDC). The stablecoin was pegged to the US Dollar on a 1:1 basis. USDC has grown over the years to become the second-largest stablecoin, behind the USD Tether (USDT). Data also shows that stablecoin is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency with over $4 billion market valuation.
The second-largest stablecoin grew from $10.82 billion to $50.83 billion year-over-year. The growth represents about a 370% jump. However, USDC had lost nearly 16% in its 24-hour trading volume.
Circle announced the $400 million funding after the firm delayed its SPAC merger. In February, the company said it had halted its previous deal with Concord Acquisition Corp. Although the new SPAC deal is still with Concord, Circle doubled its valuation target from $4.5 billion to $9 billion.