Circle’s venture arm is teaming up with crypto infrastructure firm Crossmint to bring stablecoin payments to both human users and AI agents worldwide.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- Circle Ventures has invested in Crossmint to expand USDC access across multiple blockchains
- The partnership focuses on enabling stablecoin-powered payments for AI systems and global users
- Countries like Argentina and Colombia are adopting USDC for financial stability amid inflation
- Despite USDC’s growth, Tether’s USDT still dominates the stablecoin market
What Happened?
Circle Ventures, the investment arm of Circle Internet Group, has partnered with Crossmint to scale access to the USDC stablecoin. Their joint goal is to power stablecoin payments for humans and AI agents alike, making transactions faster, more accessible, and globally interoperable. The move positions USDC as a financial tool not just for people, but also for AI systems expected to be heavy users of blockchain in the coming years.
The world is about to change in unimaginable ways.
— Rodri (@rodrifernandezt) September 24, 2025
Anyone can launch financial products in days. Money became programmable. Agents are taking over the economy.
Things are moving fast. We’re deepening our partnership with @circle to accelerate ⚡️ https://t.co/lzm3v8k8v5
Crossmint and Circle: Building Smart Payment Infrastructure
The partnership brings together Crossmint’s crypto infrastructure with Circle’s USDC, a regulated stablecoin backed 100 percent by liquid assets. Together, they aim to transform how digital payments are handled across various blockchain platforms, particularly focusing on AI-powered agents and automated systems.
Crossmint will provide:
- Wallets and APIs for onramps, orchestration, and agentic payments.
- Stablecoin rails that allow AI systems to make payments independently.
- Support for near-instant, low-cost, global transfers.
This infrastructure lays the foundation for AI agents to perform real-world financial actions, such as:
- Paying for self-driving taxis.
- Publishing content or storing data onchain.
- Interacting with decentralized applications in DeFi ecosystems.
Experts from Coinbase, including Kevin Leffew and Lincoln Murr, have emphasized the rising role of AI agents in blockchain networks, particularly Ethereum, suggesting these agents will eventually become key participants in decentralized commerce.
Stablecoins as a Lifeline in High-Inflation Economies
While the AI angle brings futuristic excitement, the real-world applications are just as impactful. In countries like Argentina and Colombia, where inflation runs rampant and local currencies weaken, stablecoins like USDC offer an alternative to preserve wealth.
- Many Argentinians are using “crypto caves” to bypass currency controls and access US dollar-pegged stablecoins.
- In Colombia, MoneyGram has launched a crypto payments app, powered by Crossmint, allowing users to receive and hold USDC as an alternative to the peso.
- MoneyGram serves over 50 million customers across 190 countries, making the potential reach of these stablecoin solutions truly global.
USDC Grows, But USDT Still Leads
Despite Circle and Crossmint’s advancements, Tether’s USDT remains the dominant player in the stablecoin space:
- $100 billion in daily trading volume vs. USDC’s $10.3 billion.
- $173 billion market cap vs. USDC’s $74.1 billion.
- Over $80 billion of USDT is circulating on the Tron network, favored for its fast and low-cost transfers.
Still, USDC’s regulatory backing and infrastructure-first approach may prove to be a long-term differentiator, especially as AI-driven applications and institutions look for reliable and transparent financial tools.
More Partnerships on the Horizon
Crossmint is also working with Layer 1 blockchain Tempo, a project incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, to further expand stablecoin adoption. These collaborations show how the stablecoin space is maturing beyond speculation and into real-world utility, bridging traditional finance with AI, fintech, and global payments.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
Honestly, this is the kind of crypto story I get excited about. Instead of another token pump, we’re talking about real infrastructure, real use cases, and even robots that can pay for stuff on their own. Circle and Crossmint aren’t just trying to ride the AI hype wave. They’re actually laying pipes for what could become the financial backbone of AI applications. Whether it’s helping a family in Colombia store their money in USDC or letting an AI agent buy compute time, this is how crypto moves mainstream. The future is programmable, and now, it can pay too.
