Circle Ventures has invested in Crossmint to scale access to its USDC stablecoin, targeting billions of users including both people and AI agents through new blockchain integrations.
Key Takeaways
- Circle Ventures has made a strategic investment in Crossmint to expand USDC’s reach across multiple blockchain networks.
- The partnership aims to support both humans and AI agents in making stablecoin-powered payments.
- MoneyGram’s new crypto app in Colombia uses Crossmint’s infrastructure to help users store USDC, offering an alternative to local currencies.
- Despite growing USDC adoption, Tether’s USDT still dominates stablecoin markets by a large margin in both volume and market cap.
What Happened?
Circle Ventures, the venture capital arm of stablecoin issuer Circle, has partnered with and invested in Crossmint, a crypto infrastructure firm. The move aims to expand the reach of USDC, Circle’s fully reserved and regulated stablecoin, across more blockchain rails. The partnership also intends to support payments not just for people but for autonomous AI agents expected to power future digital services and applications.
We’re excited to announce a strategic investment from @circle_ventures.
— Crossmint (@crossmint) September 24, 2025
It’s one of many ways we’re working with Circle to bring stablecoin-powered payments to billions of users and AI agents, and millions of companies. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/uh35AyjkLI
Crossmint’s Broader Strategy to Scale Stablecoins
Crossmint said its collaboration with Circle lays the foundation for a new financial era where money moves near-instantly, access is global, and financial systems are designed for both human and machine users. By integrating Crossmint’s wallets and APIs with USDC’s infrastructure, the firms want to make stablecoin adoption seamless across sectors.
- Crossmint’s tools are designed for use in stablecoin onramps, payment orchestration, and agentic payments.
- The initiative reflects growing interest in how AI agents will use stablecoins to complete real-world tasks like paying for self-driving taxis or managing digital content automatically.
Industry voices are increasingly pointing to AI as a transformative user of blockchain. Coinbase developers Kevin Leffew and Lincoln Murr noted that AI agents are expected to become major blockchain users, unlocking new opportunities in e-commerce and automated service delivery.
Real-World Use in Inflation-Stricken Markets
Beyond AI, stablecoins are proving especially useful in countries hit hard by inflation. In Argentina, people are bypassing strict currency controls by turning to “crypto caves” where they can buy US dollar-backed stablecoins like USDC. This provides a reliable store of value compared to volatile local currencies.
Recently, MoneyGram launched a crypto payments app in Colombia using Crossmint’s infrastructure. The app lets users store and receive USDC, offering an alternative to the weakening Colombian peso. With over 50 million customers across 190 countries, MoneyGram’s adoption of USDC technology could significantly increase its global utility.
USDC Faces Stiff Competition from Tether
Despite these advancements, USDC still trails far behind its primary competitor. Tether’s USDT recorded nearly $100 billion in 24-hour trading volume, while USDC only reached $10.3 billion, according to CoinGecko. USDT’s market capitalization is also more than twice that of USDC, standing at $173 billion versus USDC’s $74.1 billion.
USDT’s popularity is particularly pronounced on the Tron blockchain, where it had over $80 billion in supply as of June. Tron’s low-cost and fast transactions make it a preferred platform for stablecoin transfers in developing markets.
Crossmint Expands to Tempo Blockchain
As part of its broader growth strategy, Crossmint also announced a partnership with Tempo, a layer-1 payments-focused blockchain that was incubated by Stripe and crypto investment firm Paradigm. Tempo aims to provide efficient infrastructure for stablecoin payments, further extending Crossmint’s reach into emerging blockchain ecosystems.
With Stripe’s reported $1.4 trillion in volume processed during 2024, and Paradigm’s crypto network connections, this collaboration reinforces Crossmint’s goal to build a powerful, multi-chain stablecoin ecosystem.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
In my experience covering the intersection of crypto and finance, this partnership between Circle and Crossmint signals a big leap forward in stablecoin utility. I found it especially forward-thinking that they’re not only addressing immediate human needs in unstable economies but also preparing for a future where AI agents are making their own payments. The Tempo partnership and MoneyGram’s integration in Colombia show how practical and real-world these applications already are. USDC may be behind USDT now, but with these moves, it’s clearly playing the long game.
