Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, has announced a partnership with Ripio, a leading Latin American crypto exchange based in Argentina, to address the growing demand for digital dollars.
Circle announced the news in a press release on Wednesday, October 14th. Through this partnership, Ripio will leverage Circle platform services to support USD Coin (USDC) liquidity and fund flows across its exchange and wallet products.
Ripio will implement Circle’s transactional services, business accounts, and platform APIs to offer easy conversion of local currencies into and out of USDC, “manage liquidity and custody funds and automate associated treasury operations across Ripio’s exchange and wallet products.”
As a value-added service, Ripio has also unveiled “Ripio Earn”, a USDC yield account that provides a six percent annual interest rate return, now available to Ripio’s more than 500,000 users in Argentina and Brazil.
According to Circle, recent macro conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic have strained many currencies with increase volatility that has led businesses and institutions to pursue strategies to access US dollars. USDC has as one of the most efficient and effective vehicles in the flight to safety.
Coinbase-backed stablecoin has posted triple-digit market cap growth in 2020. According to the issuer, “global demand for USDC has grown by nearly 500% year-to-date from just over $400 million in circulation at the beginning of the year to a market cap of nearly $2.8 billion today.”
Amid these circumstances, the South American region is a major hot-spot in stablecoin demand. Ripio has emerged as a go-to point for accessing digital dollars with stablecoin transactions last quarter increasing over 800% compared to the previous quarter.
The partnership between Ripio and Circle is to answer this growing demand for stablecoin in the region. Jeremy Allaire, Circle CEO and co-founder, commented:
“Ripio is a fintech pioneer that continues to be in the vanguard of not only the crypto industry but also the broader consumer and B2B finance sectors in Latin America. We are excited to see Ripio take advantage of our platform services to accelerate the adoption of digital dollars and introduce innovative new products like Ripio Earn. From investors to gig-economy workers, the broad availability of digital dollars championed by Ripio promises to increase access to new economic opportunities for many more people than previously possible.”
Sebastian Serrano, CEO and co-founder of Ripio, stated:
“We are very happy to have a partner like Circle with a powerful and flexible stablecoin platform that keeps pace with our rapidly evolving product suite, and shares our vision for a more fair and inclusive financial system.”
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