Circle: $130 Billion USDC Remittance Flow into Asia in 2022
Since its inception in 2018, the stablecoin USDC has demonstrated its resilience within the $12 trillion blockchain transaction market, the company announced.
Circle: $130 Billion USDC Remittance Flow into Asia in 2022. Photo: Forkast
Circle has just released a new report highlighting significant developments for their stablecoin. According to the report, USDC is becoming a popular choice for international money transfers and trade, particularly in Asia.
USDC is a 1:1 pegged stablecoin with the US dollar, issued and backed by Circle with cash and equivalent assets.
In 2022, remittances to Asia reached $130 billion USDC. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 29% of the global digital currency received, surpassing North America (19%) and Western Europe (22%).
Remittances refer to funds transferred by migrant workers to their home countries. They play a crucial role in many economies, particularly developing nations, improving livelihoods and contributing to the overall economy. Remittances are typically facilitated through international money transfer services or other financial channels.
In the Philippines, where there is a large overseas workforce, Circle has partnered with local exchange Coins.ph to dominate this segment, with a value of up to $36 billion annually.
Circle's report also emphasizes the importance of USDC in reducing the financial trade gap in the region, addressing issues of cross-border money transfers and credit. This is particularly challenging in emerging markets, where businesses often struggle to navigate international trade capital.
One of the companies actively leveraging USDC to overcome these barriers is XREX, headquartered in Taipei. In 2022, XREX founder Wayne Huang explained how his company is building a "financial pipeline" between countries, leveraging USD surpluses in Taiwan and currency shortages in other Southeast Asian countries.
Circle also asserts that the use of stablecoins for speculative trading has significantly decreased by 90% over the past 5 years. The report also highlights other global trends, such as 33% of Latin American consumers having exposure to stablecoin payments, with citizens in this region receiving $562 billion in cryptocurrency from 2021 to mid-2022. This continues to underscore the demand and position of stablecoins worldwide.
Meanwhile, Circle's competitor Tether, which supports USDT, currently dominates two-thirds of the overall stablecoin supply and increased its market share by 21 percentage points in 2023. In contrast, Circle, the issuer of USDC, recently filed for an IPO with the SEC, holding 27 billion tokens in circulation and starting 2023 with 48 billion USDC.
