Author: The Defiant

Translation: Baihua Blockchain

In the traditional financial system, the cross-border flow of funds is like a marathon filled with friction, with approximately $3 trillion constantly in a "in transit" state, becoming a sunk cost that cannot generate benefits. As blockchain technology and regulatory frameworks mature, stablecoins are moving from the periphery of the crypto world to the core of the global economy. This interview deeply dialogues with Circle's Chief Product Officer, Nikil Tandog, who reveals how Circle has evolved from a single stablecoin issuer to a full-stack platform company covering assets, payments, and infrastructure from the dual perspectives of a technology expert and a globalization observer.

This article not only explores how USDC is reshaping market trust through compliance in the post-bank crisis era but also forecasts the financial landscape of 2030: at that time, money will become a programmable primitive like electricity, AI agents will replace humans as the main subjects of payments, and a new legal framework codified by the Genius Act will pave the way for internet-scale fintech companies. This is a deep reflection on the release of productivity, economic inclusivity, and the vision of "money as code," providing key annotations for our understanding of the flow of wealth in the next decade.

I. From Issuer to Platform Company: Circle's Strategic Evolution and Core Logic

Host: We all know that USDC is Circle's flagship product and a mainstream representative of stablecoins. Under the current industry consensus, stablecoins have become the most successful entry point for cryptocurrencies. What is the core argument driving Circle at present? What are your main strategies, and how have they evolved from the early days?

Nikhil: Circle has been a company for about 12 or 13 years, and we have been deeply involved in the stablecoin space for a long time. USDC has been launched for about 7 years. For a long time, stablecoins were not seen as a core use case for cryptocurrencies. At that time, people were more inclined to build completely decentralized self-sovereign currencies, thinking that "uploading the dollar to the internet" seemed lacking in imagination.

But when I joined the company, that was what excited me the most. Because globally, obtaining dollars is a "superpower." I grew up in India, and I know how much people outside the West value the American financial system and the dollar. Stablecoins are not just financial tools; they are solutions for economic inclusivity.

Our development has gone through several stages: First, we established one of the largest stablecoin networks in the world. The value of the network lies in the willingness of both parties to transact; USDC's success is due to the willingness of the receiving party to accept it. By establishing a large number of fiat on/off-ramps, we embedded USDC into both the traditional crypto ecosystem and the modern payment ecosystem.

Secondly, Circle is transitioning from a single stablecoin issuer to a "three-layer structure" platform company. This includes:

1. Core Asset Layer: In addition to USDC, we also issue EURC (Euro stablecoin) and USYC.

2. Application and Payment Layer (CPN): Circle Payment Network, which can be seen as a high-level application of stablecoins for handling actual payment needs.

3. Infrastructure Layer (ARC): This is the lower-level tech stack we are building to provide more foundational technical support for stablecoins.

This evolution is actually in line with the vision of our founder Jeremy Allaire from many years ago. We had to take steps to get to today, accumulating enough market share and trust to truly start building this complete platform architecture.

II. Resilient Growth After the Crisis: The Impact of Compliance Pathways and the Genius Act

Host: When the U.S. commercial banking crisis broke out last year, the circulation of USDC was impacted due to issues with some banks holding collateral. At that time, a trust crisis emerged in the market, but you successfully rebounded and restored growth. Where does this growth momentum come from?

Nikhil: The growth comes from a renewed understanding of asset value and functionality in the market. In the core asset trading market, USDC is seen as more valuable than in the past. In payment systems, it demonstrates stronger programmability and infrastructure support, which other stablecoins lack.

Currently, USDC operates on 28 public chains, and we also operate a Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) to ensure USDC can flow seamlessly and securely across different chains. More importantly, we have invested heavily in regulatory infrastructure. We comply with the EU's MiCA regulations, and in the U.S., the Genius Act (assumed to be important legislation in the context of 2026) essentially codifies Circle's compliance operating model into law.

People are beginning to realize that stablecoins are not just financial assets; they are a network. When you and I transact, we seek the most liquid, reliable asset that is available 24/7/365.

Host: Speaking of competition, Tether (USDT) is still the largest stablecoin by circulation. The market generally believes that Circle is taking a compliant and transparent path, while Tether is relatively in a gray area. What does this positioning mean for you?

Nikhil: I don't speculate on the reserve structure of competitors. I can only say that Circle adheres to a path of transparency. We have the Circle Reserve Fund, which publishes checkpoints daily, and anyone can see where the funds are going. As a quasi-public company (or one that has entered the listing process), we undergo strict audits and financial disclosures.

One of our goals in pursuing an IPO is to ensure that global users believe we are not a secretive small workshop, but a modern financial institution with checks and balances and regulation. We want sunlight to shine into every corner.

Regarding growth areas, while our current primary market liquidity is concentrated in licensed countries, USDC has shown strong global performance in secondary markets. Currently, there are USDC holders in about 190 countries worldwide. It's like an internet protocol; if you build an open, powerful API (i.e., USDC infrastructure), developers around the world will build applications on it. We are working to enter emerging markets like Latin America and Africa through compliant "front doors," cooperating with local regulators to unleash local economic ambitions.

III. Towards 2030: AI Agents, Programmable Money, and a $59 Trillion Market

Host: With increased regulatory clarity, especially with the passage of the Genius Act you mentioned, has the willingness of institutional participants (such as banks and fintech companies) changed?

Nikhil: The change is remarkable. In the past, fintech companies had to establish banking relationships in each market they entered, which was an extremely slow process. But stablecoins allow financial services to globalize using the scale effects of the internet, just like Netflix.

I have an insider tip: on the first Monday after the Genius Act was passed, I had a meeting in the office with one of the largest fintech companies in the U.S. They are already formulating extremely complex stablecoin integration plans.

Host: Looking ahead to 2030, what do you think the world will look like?

Nikhil: By 2030, the global financial landscape will undergo fundamental changes.

1. Efficiency Revolution in the B2B Market: This is a massive $59 trillion market. With stablecoins, cross-border B2B payments will become extremely efficient.

2. Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Payments: With the proliferation of AI agents, future network users will be more agents than humans. We need to redesign payment networks for these agents. Imagine that when my daughter goes to college, there might be five AI agents working for her, raising capital on-chain based on work history and income streams, completely bypassing traditional bank loan models.

3. Integration of Software and Payments: In the past, software and payments were separate; in the future, that boundary will disappear. Payments will just be a few lines of code in software, with high programmability.

IV. ARC Infrastructure: Building a Financial Foundation to Support Internet Scale

Host: Since there are already many existing chains, why did Circle decide to build its own infrastructure layer, ARC? How does it differ from solutions like Ethereum Layer 2?

Nikhil: This stems from our industry experience. In the Google era, when Android emerged, there were already six operating systems on the market, but the key to Android's success was building a complete ecosystem.

Current blockchain infrastructure still faces significant barriers when it comes to "mainstream users going on-chain." For example, the cost of creating wallets for tens of millions of users is extremely high. We aim to address these practical pain points. ARC is not meant to exclude other chains. USDC will continue to maintain a multi-chain strategy, but ARC will serve as the underlying layer of our tech stack, providing the following features:

• Payment Finality: Ensures payments are irreversible in a very short time.

• Configurable Privacy: Allows transaction endpoints to control privacy levels, meeting enterprise compliance needs.

• Native Stablecoin Payment Gas: Users do not need to hold a specific native token to pay transaction fees, which resolves complexities in asset-liability accounting for enterprises.

Host: One last question, what areas do you think stablecoins are "not good at"? Or in what areas do traditional financial rails have advantages?

Nikhil: That's an interesting question. But I find it hard to think of what stablecoins are not good at. It's like asking, "What is electricity not good at?" or "What is the internet not good at?"

Some say domestic payments are already fast enough and do not need stablecoins. But the issue lies in programmability. A non-programmable real-time payment system is merely a simple value transfer. Once you put it on-chain and give it programmability, it can support more complex business logic and automated processes. Stablecoins are a core underlying technology; like electricity, when you introduce it into a process, it usually makes it better.

Host: What exciting things can we expect from Circle in 2026?

Nikhil: We will continue to focus on three pillars:

1. Expanding the USDC Network: More chains, more functionalities.

2. Deepening CPN (Payment Network): Increasing partnerships and opening more cross-border payment routes.

3. Officially Launching ARC: Perfecting our infrastructure stack.

We believe that by the end of this decade, this agent-based, programmable payment will completely unleash global productivity.

Host: Thank you very much, Nikhil, for your insights. We will continue to follow the progress of Circle and ARC.

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