Beyond Stablecoins: The Rise of the Internet Financial System

Humanitarian organizations have always faced challenges delivering mission-critical aid flows within the limitations of the traditional financial system. Slow cross-border settlement, high costs, limited reach, and lack of transparency have essentially forced these organizations to operate with one hand tied behind their backs. 

Regulated stablecoins that move at internet speed are helping major humanitarian organizations deliver life-sustaining resources to anyone with a mobile phone or web access, reaching remote communities at a fraction of the cost, while improving accountability for humanitarian organizations. 

Since 2020, Circle has supported humanitarian interventions across Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe, sending millions of dollars in borderless USDC to people displaced by economic, political, and societal crises. These programs have increased transparency and accountability for donors and aid organizations while providing recipients with fast, secure access to funds through digital wallets. In some cases, partners have reduced cross-border transfer costs by nearly 40% and shortened settlement times from weeks to minutes.

Beginning in December 2022, UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and Circle launched a program to distribute borderless digital dollars in the form of USDC to a group of people displaced by the war in Ukraine. This solution provides greater transparency to donors and traceability for humanitarian aid recipients and their stakeholders. The digital wallets and ecosystems have made aid easily accessible, even for those without traditional bank accounts.

Over the past three years, this program has reached thousands of Ukrainian refugees, enabling them to sustain their livelihoods and contribute to the economies of their host countries. The program has since expanded to Latin America, supporting migrants as they rebuild their lives and businesses.

In 2026, Circle will expand its engagement across the UN ecosystem with the launch of its new philanthropic arm, Circle Foundation. A key focus of the Foundation will be its support for the Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions (DHoTS), a UN system platform established in 2021 to modernize and streamline monetary transfers across participating UN entities.

Founded by UNHCR, DHoTS was created to transform how the UN manages global treasury operations and to reduce systemic risk. As the platform’s originator, UNHCR continues to provide strategic leadership in advancing next‑generation digital financial technology, ensuring the UN system benefits from cutting‑edge approaches to treasury management, payments innovation, and enterprise risk management.

Today, more than 15 UN organizations rely on DHoTS, which processes billions of dollars annually and supports over one million transactions. The platform was developed and is governed by participating agencies and operated with technical support from the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC).

Circle Foundation’s direct support for DHoTS will accelerate critical capabilities that improve how funds reach vulnerable communities by enabling:

• Near‑instant cross‑border transfers, reducing costs and delays associated with traditional correspondent banking
• Local currency conversion through integrations with banks, mobile money operators, and fintechs, expanding access in hard‑to‑reach markets
• Greater transparency and accountability, driven by streamlined and interoperable financial systems
• Programmable disbursements that automate manual steps and ease operational and reporting burdens

 
By supporting DHoTS, Circle Foundation aims to help humanitarian and development organizations deliver resources faster, more efficiently, and with greater confidence, ultimately amplifying their impact on the ground.

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Each competition brings together a distinguished panel of judges from leading global institutions, including representatives from the UN, the World Bank, the Visa Foundation, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, EY, BlackRock, and Circle’s broader ecosystem.

In 2025, ATEC Global, a Cambodia-based climate-tech company, earned top honors for its clean cooking systems and onchain carbon-credit platform. By using USDC to help rural households and women entrepreneurs tokenize and trade verified carbon assets, ATEC exemplifies how Circle’s stablecoin infrastructure can advance inclusive climate finance. The company received 100,000 USDC, along with mentorship and strategic support from Circle and its partners, to scale its impact across Asia and Africa.