Crypto
issuer
Circle
saw
a
surge
in
remittances
flow
through
Asia
via
its
USDC
stablecoin,
the
company
said
in
a
new
report
highlighting
how
the
cryptocurrency
is
used
beyond
speculative
trading.
USDC
is
a
cryptocurrency
pegged
to
the
value
of
the
U.S.
dollar,
and
backed
by
liquid
cash
and
cash-equivalent
assets.
In
2022,
$130
billion
worth
of
USDC
flowed
into
Asia,
the
report
says.
According
to
Circle,
the
Asia-Pacific
region
accounts
for
29%
of
all
global
digital
currency
value
received
compared
to
19%
for
North
America,
and
22%
for
Western
Europe.
These
volumes
are
also
made
up
of
remittance
transfers,
a
big
deal
for
emerging
markets
with
a
large
diaspora,
such
as
the
Philippines.
In
the
report,
Circle
highlighted
how
it
has
partnered
with
Coins.ph
–
an
exchange
based
in
the
country
–
to
try
and
capture
some
of
this
business,
worth
around
$36
billion
a
year.
In
the
report,
Circle
also
claims
that
USDC
is
helping
close
the
region’s
$510
billion
trade
finance
gap,
which
is
the
lack
of
liquidity
available
to
companies
for
cross-border
remittances
and
credit.
This
particularly
serves
in
emerging
markets
with
capital
outflow
restrictions,
where
businesses
often
struggle
to
obtain
the
necessary
funding
for
international
trade.
One
company
that’s
using
USDC
to
bridge
this
gap
is
Taipei-based
XREX.
In
a
CoinDesk
profile
from
2022,
its
founder,
Wayne
Huang,
explained
how
XREX
builds
financial
pipes
between
countries
using
stablecoins,
taking
advantage
of
the
deep
dollar
liquidity
in
Taiwan
and
the
dollar
shortfall
in
other
Southeast
Asian
nations.
Circle
also
said
stablecoins’
use
in
speculative
trading
has
declined
90%
over
the
past
five
years.
Elsewhere
in
the
world,
the
report
said
that
33%
of
consumers
in
Latin
America
have
paid
with
a
stablecoin,
and
citizens
in
the
region
have
received
$562
billion
in
digital
currency
between
2021
and
mid-2022.
