Company: CRCL
Filing Date: 2025-08-12
Form Type: S-1
Source: 0001193125-25-178989
Chunk: 216

Company: Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-08-12
Form: S-1
Chunk 216
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 money services; and |

138

| • |     | Other primarily U.S.-based regulated digital asset industry participants who are issuing U.S. dollar-based stablecoins. |

USDC is the second largest stablecoin and the largest regulated payment stablecoin as measured by the amount of stablecoins in circulation with a 28% share of the stablecoin market as of June 30, 2025, according to CoinMarketCap. Relative to certain other stablecoins, USDC is 100% backed by fiat-denominated reserves and has robust primary liquidity through a well-developed network of banks, representing what we view as the highest levels of transparency, safety, and operational resiliency in our industry. The largest U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin as measured by the amount of stablecoins in circulation is USDT (issued by Tether, an El Salvador-headquartered affiliate of China-based crypto exchange Bitfinex Ltd.), according to CoinMarketCap. Other competitive stablecoins include white-labeled stablecoins issued and operated by Paxos, including PayPal USD, a stablecoin that is integrated into PayPal wallet products, which has experienced limited distribution and adoption to date, but remains a potentially significant competitor. We also indirectly compete with other payment systems and innovations, including offerings being explored by national governments and central banks, where a number of developments are underway to improve upon legacy government payment systems infrastructure. For example, Real-Time Payments is a payment processing protocol which has been used by banks in the United States since 2017 to send money electronically among each other, and the more recent FedNow program is a real-time payment and settlement service for individuals and businesses provided by the Federal Reserve. However, these initiatives are merely enhancements to traditional banking and payment constructs, are often focused on specific regions, and do not directly compete against stablecoin networks and open, blockchain-based financial infrastructure. Additionally, some major financial institutions such as J.P. Morgan, FIS, and Fiserv are expanding their use of blockchain technology for digital asset applications and private stablecoin issuance. As other major financial institutions explore new alternative payment systems, we believe these institutions have the potential to be some of the biggest clients of blockchain financial services, and by extension Circle. Some have integrated blockchain technologies to offer faster cross-border payments and reduced settlement times, while other banks have explored issuing stablecoins. Our focus on building stablecoin networks on public internet infrastructure and open blockchain networks differentiates us from these closed-network projects, allowing for greater reach, interoperability, and ongoing developer-led innovation of the