In brief
- The BCB Group has partnered with Circle to serve its European clients.
- The firm said the move allows it to use US dollar-backed stablecoin USDC.
- Institutional demand for stablecoins and cryptocurrencies is booming, said the firm.
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BCB Group, a global digital asset financial services firm, partnered with US-based payments and crypto technology firm Circle today, to let its institutional clients use USD Coin (USDC) for faster and cheaper payments.
With $1.1 billion in circulation as at the end of July 2020, USDC is one of the biggest US-dollar-backed stablecoin run by the CENTRE consortium, co-founded by Coinbase and Circle.
With the partnership, BCB’s clients can use USDC for payments, clearing, and custody, while helping to mitigate negative rate risk for their customers’ European exposure, according to a press release shared with Decrypt.
Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO of Circle, said, “With institutional demand for digital dollar stablecoins growing rapidly around the world, BCB’s introduction of USDC services will provide clients with a critical piece of market infrastructure that is helping drive significant growth in crypto capital markets.”
Meanwhile, BCB Group founder Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie added, “We are excited to be working with global leader Circle and look forward to bringing to market solutions that offer our clients the benefits of USDC in this period of rapid growth for the industry.”
“As a trusted partner to world-class institutions, we remain committed to delivering industry-leading service, as well as to our shared mission—fostering financial inclusion through technological transformation,” Oliver noted.
BCB serves some of the industry’s largest exchanges, including Bitstamp, Coinbase, Galaxy, and Kraken, by providing payment services in 20+ currencies, cryptocurrency liquidity, and digital assets custody.
The partnership comes as cryptocurrency demand is booming among institutions as the economic actions of dominant governments—such as the US—indicates high (fiat) inflation in the near future, with many looking for a way out.