# Circle (USDC)

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/circle
> research date 2026-06-01 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Circle — official](https://www.circle.com/)

## Key details

- **Parent:** Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville
- **Launch:** 2013

## Overview
**Circle** is **the issuer of USDC**, the second-largest US-dollar stablecoin, and **a regulated payments-infrastructure company** providing stablecoin, programmable-wallet and cross-border settlement APIs <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [United States report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/US)</sup>. It positions USDC as a transparent, fully-reserved, compliance-first dollar token and is among the few stablecoin issuers regulated under both US and EU frameworks.

## History
**2013 — Circle founded** in Boston by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, initially as a consumer crypto-payments app.
**2018 — launches USDC** with Coinbase via the Centre Consortium, growing it into a major dollar stablecoin.
**2021–2022 — attempts a SPAC merger** to go public, which is ultimately terminated amid market conditions.
**2023 — dissolves Centre and takes full control of USDC governance**; briefly de-pegs during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis before fully recovering.
**2024–2025 — obtains an EU MiCA e-money licence (Circle France)** and completes a traditional **IPO on the NYSE under ticker CRCL** in 2025.

## Ownership & operator
**Operating entity**: **Circle Internet Group, Inc.** (NYSE: CRCL).
**Major shareholders**: **public float plus pre-IPO investors** including **General Catalyst, Accel, IDG, Breyer, Fidelity, BlackRock and others**, and co-founder Jeremy Allaire (CEO).
**Regulators**: **US state money transmitter regulators and NYDFS**, plus **EU MiCA** via Circle's French e-money licence.

## Technical integration
USDC is an ERC-20-style token issued natively on Ethereum and many other chains, transferred via standard crypto wallet addresses. Circle also offers Circle Mint, Programmable Wallets, the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) and payments APIs for businesses; there is no mass-market consumer wallet app.

## Implementations & partners
**Major competitors**: [Tether (USDT)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/tether) (USDT issuer) and other stablecoin issuers; deeply integrated with [Coinbase](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/coinbase) (USDC distribution partner) and across exchanges like [Binance](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/binance) and [Kraken](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/kraken).

## Status
**Active, a US-listed stablecoin issuer and the leading regulated alternative to USDT** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.circle.com/ "Circle — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_(company) "Circle — Wikipedia"
[us-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/US

- [1] [Circle — official][1]
- [2] [Circle — Wikipedia][2]
- <sup>[United States report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/US)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/US-united-states.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [circle.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/circle). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.