NYC-based BlackRock Inc., which is the world’s top asset management firm with around $9.5 trillion in total assets under management (AUM) as of 30 September 2021 according to ADV Ratings, has invested in stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd.
On 26 September 2018, Circle announced that 26 September 2018 announced that it was launching its “USD Coin” ($USDC for short), which is a regulated fully collateralized dollar-backed cryptocurrency that was originally announced on 16 May 2018. This stablecoin is based on an open source fiat stablecoin framework developed and governed by the CENTRE project. Circle said back then that “individuals and institutions” could enroll its dollar tokenization service to “deposit US dollars from bank accounts, convert those dollars into tokens usable everywhere the internet reaches (subject to the token’s compliance controls), and redeem USDC tokens and cash out to bank accounts.”
In a press release issued on April 12, Circle said that it had “entered into an agreement for a $400M funding round with investments from BlackRock, Inc., Fidelity Management and Research, Marshall Wace LLP and Fin Capital” and that “the funding round is expected to close in the second quarter.”
The press release went on to say that “in addition to its corporate strategic investment and role as a primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves, BlackRock has entered into a broader strategic partnership with Circle, which includes exploring capital market applications for USDC.” It also mentioned that this new funding “promotes Circle’s continued strategic growth as demand for dollar digital currency and related financial services continues to scale globally.”
Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO of Circle, had this to say about this new partnership:
“USDC is one of the fastest growing dollar digital currencies with over $50 billion in circulation. Dollar digital currencies like USDC are fueling a global economic transformation, and Circle’s technology infrastructure sits at the center of that change. This funding round will drive the next evolution of Circle’s growth… It’s particularly gratifying to add BlackRock as a strategic investor in the company. We look forward to developing our partnership.“
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