Fintech outfit Circle has raised $440 million in financing as it seeks to capitalise on the success of the fast-growing USDC stablecoin.
Fidelity Management and Research Company, Marshall Wace, Willett Advisors, Intersection Fintech Ventures, Atlas Merchant Capital, Digital Currency Group, FTX, Breyer Capital, Valor Capital Group, and Pillar VC all joined the round.
An early player in the crypto space, Circle at one point had an exchange called Poloniex, a Circle Pay app and an investing app.
However, these have all been shed as the firm honed in on the USD Coin, which launched in 2018, making it easy to convert US dollars into tokens that can then be moved over public blockchains.
The stablecoin has become the world's fastest growing dollar digital currency, now standing at $22 billion in circulation. USDC has grown by 436% in 2021 alone, and over 28,000% over the past 12 months.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO, Circle, says: "As a company, Circle has remained committed to our mission of raising global economic prosperity through the power of digital currency, blockchains and breakthroughs in programmable money.
"The sustained global demand for our services powering the growth of USDC, as the most trusted and well regulated dollar digital currency, signals that we are one step closer to achieving our mission.
"With powerful backers who are committed to our mission and vision, we will redouble our efforts to expand into new markets, continue driving fundamental technology innovation and grow our team."