Circle, a major peer-to-peer payments company and the leading operator of UDC Coin (USDC), has announced a $400 million funding round and a new partnership with US investment firm BlackRock.
The USDC issuer has agreed to a funding round involving investors including BlackRock, investment advisory firm Fidelity Management and Research, London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace, and Fin Capital., Circle officially announced on Tuesday. The investment round is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
In addition to providing a strategic investment and being the leading asset manager of USDC’s cash reserves, BlackRock has entered into a broader strategic cooperation with Circle. The partnership specifically contemplates exploring capital market applications for USDC, the announcement notes.
The funding is intended to further Circle’s development amid growing demand for US dollar-based digital currencies. USDC is one of the fastest growing dollar digital currencies, reaching a market cap of $50 billion in February 2022 after launching in September 2018.
At the time of writing this article, Circle is the second largest stablecoin by market capitalization, behind only Tether (USDT) and is the fifth largest cryptocurrency by value.r, according to data from CoinGecko.
“This funding round will drive the next evolution of Circle’s growth. It is especially gratifying to add BlackRock as a strategic investor in the company. We look forward to developing our partnership,” said Circle Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire.
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