Money movement platform Thunes has launched a partnership with stablecoin issuer Circle.
The collaboration is designed to “accelerate innovation in stablecoin liquidity management,” letting members of Thunes’ Direct Global Network to fund and execute cross-border transactions using USDC, the companies said in a Tuesday (Oct. 29) news release.
This will allow for faster transfers in seconds, seven days a week, boosting liquidity and lowering capital costs for Thunes’ members.
“Regulated stablecoins, such as USDC, are upgrading the financial and payments ecosystem, acting as a bridge between traditional fiat currencies and digital assets,” the companies said in the release.
“They offer a reliable medium for enhancing liquidity in payments, mitigating volatility, and facilitating seamless, near-instantaneous transactions across global markets. Such stablecoins leverage the speed, immutability and traceability advantages of blockchain technology, making them a new essential financial tool for businesses and individuals.”
The release notes that Thunes was an early adopted of stablecoins, and will use the power of these digital currencies to improve cross-border transactions and provide faster, more cost-effective payment solutions and new opportunities for growth to members of its Direct Global Network.
“Circle’s collaboration with Thunes demonstrates the transformative power of digital dollars to enable secure, transparent money movement at the speed of the internet,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle.
“USDC makes seamless cross-border transactions easier for companies and individuals, unlocking new economic opportunities and reducing friction in global financial transactions.”
The partnership comes at a moment in which the stablecoin market’s worth has surpassed $170 billion, as noted here earlier this month. And with FinTech giant Stripe buying stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, “it’s becoming a harder one for the payments sector to ignore,” PYMNTS wrote.
The attention of companies like Stripe and Thunes is happening as stablecoins are increasingly finding utility beyond their traditional use as base trading pairs and liquidity sources on cryptocurrency exchanges and within the broader Web3 economy.
“Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset (usually a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar or euro), are emerging as a powerful tool bridging the gap between traditional financial technology and the world of cryptocurrencies,” that report said. “Their ability to offer the efficiency and transparency of blockchain technology while providing the familiarity and stability of fiat currencies is critical for integrating blockchain-based assets into mainstream financial systems.”