Algorand Blockchain and Circle to launch digital dollar

Algorand Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on engaging, educating, and enabling its community to build a borderless economy on public, decentralized blockchain technology has signed a collaboration agreement with Circle to bring fiat-backed stablecoin capability to Algorand that is powered by USD Coin (USDC) , the fastest-growing full-reserve US Dollar stablecoin based on the open standards and governance framework developed by the Centre Consortium.

Through this collaboration agreement, Circle will add support for digital dollar stablecoins that are interoperable with USDC. This will enable customers of Circle Business Accounts and Circle APIs to easily move funds between traditional banks and card networks to digital dollars on the Algorand blockchain. Customers will be able to have custody and manage accounts and payments activity through Circle APIs, and gain the speed, security and throughput advantages of Algorand's blockchain.

USDC is the fastest-growing stablecoin, supported by hundreds of fintech companies in their products and services. With over $2.5B  USDC issued to date, USDC has seen over $50B  in transaction volume and settlements on public blockchains. In recent months, due to increasing global demand for digital dollars, USDC has experienced significant growth, with a greater than 100% increase in USDC in circulation from pre-pandemic levels, with more than $940M in circulation.

"Growth in mainstream financial use cases is driving more demand for high-throughput payments and finance-optimized blockchain infrastructure," said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle. "The combination of USDC and Circle Platform Services  with the Algorand blockchain will create a foundation for developing a wide range of scalable, secure and compliant financial applications. 

Algorand Foundation and Circle will also jointly promote the unique benefits of USDC on the Algorand blockchain for financial institutions looking to build scalable, secure and compliant financial applications on public chains.

"As more financial institutions and enterprises look to build decentralized financial applications, they need a well-suited infrastructure and a compliant, regulated, and widely accepted stablecoin," said Fangfang Chen, COO of the Algorand Foundation. "We are excited to partner with Circle to provide financial institutions with the tools they need to leverage the unique benefits of USDC and offer enterprise-grade solutions to build real-world use cases."