The year 2022 will be remembered as a turning point for the crypto ecosystem. A severe slump in asset prices, along with fraud, market manipulation, contagion from the failures of shoddy projects and anti-competitive behavior have soured the perception of digital assets among some industry veterans and the broader public.
Yet beneath the dismal headlines and negative sentiment, crypto’s core promise remains intact – and more relevant than ever. While bad actors have cast a pall over the entire space, Circle and others are creating momentum for real-world use cases by making it easier to transfer value at internet speed and scale. Together, we’re forging ahead and building the next generation of payments technology and market infrastructure that can usher in a new era of utility for millions of businesses and developers, and billions of people globally.
The industry’s decisive shift from speculation to utility – from hyping asset prices to serving real businesses, their customers and those in regions of need – is the overarching theme of Circle’s programming at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. We are kicking off 2023 in January at Davos, where we’ll host timely conversations that engage both private and public sector leaders on ways that digital assets can advance the public good.
We’ll have much more to share directly from the ground in Davos. Until then, here’s a preview of our agenda.
Philanthropy and Impact
In December, we partnered with a non-government organization to distribute digital dollars to people facing humanitarian crisis. This program uses the Stellar blockchain to ensure delivery of USDC to people who need it, all in a way that’s traceable, corruption-resistant, and with full accountability. Given Stellar’s inherent speed and cost advantages compared to traditional rails, recipients can receive aid almost instantly and with fewer fees, so they can use more of every dollar.
As a stable store of value, USDC enables people to move across borders without the need to carry cash. Should recipients need to convert the USDC into cash, they can do so at MoneyGram locations.
To showcase how digital assets are accelerating aid delivery and improving traditional philanthropy, we'll be hosting several conversations in Davos with charitable and social impact groups.
Trust
Trust is the foundation of our entire business. It’s the reason we’ve designed our stablecoins for maximum transparency, and partly why we file audited financial statements with the SEC. But for many people, 2022 was the year they lost trust in crypto. Our Davos agenda will focus heavily on restoring trust and reminding people that not all digital asset businesses are created equal.
In Davos, I’ll host a discussion with Deloitte about how we foster trust in a dynamic industry. Several of my Circle colleagues will also be speaking with market-leading organizations about how they act as stewards of responsible innovation.
Fortune 500 integration
Major global businesses stand to benefit today from the innovations of digital currency and blockchain. We are building infrastructure that large corporations can begin using right now to handle everything from retail payments and customer engagement to supplier payments, payroll and more. In the future, we believe that businesses will be also able to tap blockchain-based markets for capital formation and allocation needs.
To make all of this possible, we’ve partnered with companies like Bank of New York Mellon and other major institutions to manage the majority of the assets in the USDC reserve. Our goal is to create enterprise-grade infrastructure that traditional businesses can trust, and that equips them for success across this new internet layer.
In Davos, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte, and Chief Revenue Officer Kash Razzaghi will host several discussions with our business partners to explore growing integration opportunities for global businesses.
Regulation
Regulators and policymakers are committed to protecting consumers from digital asset fraud and speculative excesses. At the same time, they are increasingly grasping the potential of stablecoins to improve commerce and society. There is evidence of increased interest in getting digital asset regulation right, and we are optimistic about the potential for near-future breakthroughs both in Washington and beyond. In November, Circle received in-principle approval to be a licensed payments company from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which highlights our plan to engage more deeply in Asia-Pacific.
Stakeholders agree that establishing stablecoin standards is a crucial first step in crafting sensible policies for digital assets more broadly. As a trusted actor and the issuer of a leading digital dollar, Circle is helping to shape effective regulation while strengthening industry-wide partnerships around safety and transparency.
Circle’s top policy and regulatory executives will hold sessions in Davos to assess the state of play across the US, Europe and APAC.
I invite you to explore our WEF agenda and stop by if you’re in Davos. We look forward to building a very successful 2023 and beyond with all of you.
