Written by: The Defiant
Compiled by: Plain Language Blockchain
In the traditional financial system, cross-border capital flows are like a friction-laden marathon, with approximately $3 trillion constantly "in transit," becoming sunk costs that generate no benefit. 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 in-depth interview with Nikil Tandog, Chief Product Officer of Circle, reveals how Circle has evolved from a single stablecoin issuer into a full-stack platform company covering assets, payments, and infrastructure, offering insights from both a technology expert's and a global observer's perspective.
This article not only explores how USDC can rebuild market trust through compliance in the post-banking crisis era, but also provides a forward-looking prediction of the financial landscape in 2030: by then, money will become a programmable primitive like electricity, AI agents will replace humans as the primary means of payment, and a new legal framework codified by the Genius Act will pave the way for internet-scale fintech companies. This is an in-depth reflection on productivity release, economic inclusion, and the vision of "money as code," providing crucial insights into how wealth flows in the next decade.
I. From Publisher 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. Given the current industry consensus, stablecoins have become the most successful entry point for cryptocurrencies. Could you please discuss the core arguments driving Circle's current strategy? What are your main strategies, and how have they evolved from their early stages?
Nikhil : Circle is a company that's been around for 12 or 13 years, and we've been deeply involved in the stablecoin space for a long time. USDC has also been around for about 7 years. For a long time, stablecoins weren't seen as a core use case for cryptocurrencies. At the time, people preferred building completely decentralized, self-sovereign currencies, and the idea of "uploading dollars to the internet" seemed unimaginative.
But this was exactly what excited me most when I joined the company. Because globally, access to US dollars is a kind of "superpower." I grew up in India, and I know how much people outside the West value the US financial system and the dollar. Stablecoins are more than just financial instruments; they are solutions for economic inclusion.
Our development has gone through several stages: First, we built one of the world's largest stablecoin networks. The value of a network lies in the willingness of both parties in a transaction; USDC's success stems from the recipient's willingness to use it for payment. By establishing numerous fiat currency on/off-ramps, we have embedded USDC into both the traditional crypto ecosystem and the modern payment ecosystem.
Secondly, Circle is transforming from a single stablecoin issuer into a "three-tier" platform company. This includes:
Core asset layer: In addition to USDC, we also issue EURC (Euro stablecoin) and USYC.
Application and Payment Layer (CPN): Circle Payment Network can be seen as an advanced application of stablecoins, used to handle real-world payment needs.
Infrastructure Layer (ARC): This is the lower-level technology stack we are building, designed to provide a more fundamental technological foundation for stablecoins.
This evolution is actually putting into practice the vision of our founder, Jeremy Allaire, from many years ago. We had to get to where we are today, accumulating enough market share and trust, before we could truly begin building this complete platform architecture.
II. Resilient Growth After the Crisis: Compliance Pathways and the Impact of the Genius Act
Host: When the US commercial banking crisis broke out last year, the circulation of USDC was impacted because some of the banks where the collateral was held encountered problems. This created a crisis of confidence in the market, but you successfully rebounded and resumed growth. What are the driving forces behind this growth?
Nikhil : The growth stems from a renewed market recognition of asset value and functionality. In core asset trading markets, USDC is seen as more valuable than before. In payment systems, it demonstrates greater programmability and infrastructure support, which other stablecoins lack.
Currently, USDC runs on 28 public blockchains, and we also operate the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) to ensure that USDC can flow seamlessly and securely between different chains. More importantly, we have invested heavily in regulatory infrastructure. We comply with the EU's MiCA regulations, and in the US, the Genius Act (a significant piece of legislation assuming a 2026 context) essentially codifies Circle's compliant operating model into law.
People are beginning to realize that stablecoins are more than just financial assets; they are a network. When we trade, we seek assets that are highly liquid, reliable, and available 24/7/365.
Host: Speaking of competition, Tether (USDT) is currently the stablecoin with the largest circulating supply. The market generally believes that Circle follows a compliant and transparent path, while Tether is relatively positioned in a gray area. What does this positioning mean for you?
Nikhil : I don't speculate on our competitors' reserve structures. I can only say that Circle adheres to a path of transparency. We have the Circle Reserve Fund, which publishes daily checkpoints, allowing anyone to see where the funds are going. As a pre-IPO (or already in the IPO process) company, we are subject to rigorous audits and financial reporting disclosures.
One of our goals in pursuing an IPO is to convince global users that we are not a secretive little operation, but a modern financial institution with checks and balances and proper regulation. We want the sunlight to shine into every corner.
Regarding growth regions, while our primary primary market liquidity is currently concentrated in licensed countries, USDC demonstrates strong global reach in the secondary market. Currently, USDC holders exist in approximately 190 countries worldwide. This is similar to internet protocols; if you build an open and robust API (i.e., the USDC infrastructure), developers worldwide will build applications on top of it. We are working to enter emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa through compliant "legitimate channels," 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, have the intentions of institutional participants (such as banks and fintech companies) changed?
Nikhil : The change is astounding. Previously, every time a fintech company entered a market, it needed to establish local banking relationships, a very slow process. But stablecoins allow financial services to leverage the scale of the internet, much like Netflix has, to achieve globalization.
I have some inside information: On the first Monday after the Genius Act passed, I had a meeting in the office of one of the largest fintech companies in the United States. They were already working on an extremely complex stablecoin integration plan.
Host: Looking ahead to 2030, what do you think the world will be like?
Nikhil : By 2030, the global financial landscape will have undergone fundamental changes.
An efficiency revolution in the B2B market: This is a massive $59 trillion market. Stablecoins will make cross-border B2B payments extremely efficient.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Payments: With the proliferation of AI agents, future internet users will be more agents than humans. We need to redesign payment networks for these agents. Imagine my daughter going to college, with perhaps five AI agents working for her, raising capital on-chain based on work history and income streams, completely bypassing traditional bank lending models.
The convergence of software and payments: In the past, software and payments were separate, but in the future, this boundary will disappear. Payments will be just a few lines of code in software, possessing extremely high programmability.
IV. ARC Infrastructure: Building the Financial Foundation to Support Internet-Scale
Host: Given that there are already many existing blockchains, 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. When Android emerged during the Google era, 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 obstacles in getting mainstream users on-chain. For example, creating wallets for tens of millions of users is extremely costly. We aim to address these real pain points. ARC is not intended to exclude other chains. USDC will continue its multi-chain strategy, but ARC will serve as the foundation of our technology stack, providing the following features:
Payment finality: ensures that payments are irreversible within a very short period of time.
Configurable privacy: Allows trading terminals to control privacy levels, meeting enterprise compliance requirements.
Gas payments via native stablecoins: Users do not need to hold a specific native token to pay transaction fees, which solves the complexity of balance sheet accounting for enterprises.
Host: One last question, in which areas do you think stablecoins are "not good at"? Or, in which areas do traditional financial institutions have an advantage?
Nikhil : That's an interesting question. But I find it hard to think of anything stablecoins aren't good at. It's like asking "What is electricity not good at?" or "What is the internet not good at?"
Some argue that domestic payments are already fast enough that stablecoins are unnecessary. However, 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, they typically improve a process when introduced into it.
Host: What exciting things will we see Circle launch in 2026?
Nikhil : We will continue to focus on three pillars:
Expanding the USDC network: More chains, more features.
Deepen CPN (Payment Network): Increase partners and open up more cross-border payment routes.
Officially launching ARC: perfecting our infrastructure stack.
We believe that by the end of this decade, this proxy-based, programmable payment system will completely unleash global productivity.
Host: Thank you very much, Nikhil, for sharing your insights. We will continue to follow the progress of Circle and ARC.
