From one-click food delivery to video calls with grandparents, the open internet has touched nearly every aspect of our lives. Yet core systems that facilitate the global movement of money were last fundamentally updated in the 1970s.
We wait seconds to stream a movie but wait days for a wire transfer to clear. That disconnect has left a hole in the financial system.
Whether in communications, e-commerce, or education, the progress enabled by internet platforms has followed the same arc: faster, freer, and fairer. That’s no accident. The internet was designed for high speed, low costs, and greater inclusion.
And now it’s primed to deliver the greatest opportunity of all: open money.
Payment stablecoins like USDC – which run on blockchain networks designed to reduce fees and friction – represent the next great chapter in this story of open system innovation. Just as SMTP enabled seamless, interoperable email at global scale across borders and corporate networks, Circle is building a universal protocol for digital dollars, using the fundamentals of blockchain – permissionless, frictionless, and fast.
Digital dollars enable money to move around the world at the speed of thought, just like other internet data. This can dramatically reduce the toll gates and speed bumps of traditional finance.
Take remittances. Using conventional methods, the average fee for sending a $200 payment is $121. That adds up to billions in fees. Using USDC, the cost falls to mere pennies, which means workers can keep more of their hard-earned money.
That’s the power of open money.
Twenty years ago, Fortune 500 businesses began moving core operations like website hosting and CRM to the cloud because it was an undeniable upgrade. Today, as the digital asset ecosystem matures, including important regulatory safeguards, we believe businesses will turn to blockchain networks for their financial infrastructure. It’s the future of money movement.
These ideas inspire our new campaign, “Money is now open.” We believe that when money is open, businesses, developers, and people around the world can:
- Access essential financial services and build financial access – because the blockchain requires no minimum balances or physical locations and has no overdraft fees.
- Build the next wave of financial innovation via programmable digital dollars.
- Rely on near-instant global money movement – modernizing cross-border payments, remittances, humanitarian aid, charitable giving, money market funds, FX flows, and many more use cases.
USDC merges the strength and reliability of the US dollar with the superpowers of the internet. It’s fast, it’s for everyone, and it’s built to last. We’re working with our partners around the world to power up this new era of open money and welcome others to join the movement.
From iconic Wall Street institutions to medical workers in Venezuela, businesses and people around the world are turning to USDC when it matters most.
Since our founding in 2013, Circle has been boldly committed to raising global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. We believe that a new internet financial system built with USDC can help create a level playing field for all.
Money is now open.
1 Remittance Prices Worldwide. Jan 11 2024. https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/#:~:text=Globally%2C%20 ending%20 remittances%20 costs%20an,2023%20report%20for%20further%20details. Last accessed May 20 2024.
