[Update 13:30 UTC, Sept. 8: Adds the $400 million purchase price and stock payment terms disclosed in Circle’s SEC filing.]

Circle has agreed to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments platform Tazapay in a $400 million all-stock deal expected to close in 2027.

Circle will pay in Class A common stock, with the purchase price subject to adjustments for Tazapay’s debt, transaction expenses and cash, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The transaction will also require customary closing conditions and approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Circle said in a Tuesday announcement.

Tazapay has more than $25 billion in annualized payment volume and serves more than 60 banking and fintech partners with local payout rails covering more than 100 markets. The company said in August 2025 that annualized payment volume was more than $10 billion.

Circle previously invested in Tazapay through Circle Ventures, including in the startup’s August 2025 Series B round. Tazapay has raised $57.9 million across five funding rounds, according to Tracxn data.

Stablecoins account for about 60% of Tazapay’s transaction volume, according to Circle. The company said the acquisition will expand its ability to route payments to and from Asia-Pacific and emerging markets.

“This acquisition will increase Circle’s capability to originate and terminate payments globally, near-instant and 24/7, which is a meaningful step toward making USDC the default payment rail for cross-border commerce,” said Irfan Ganchi, senior vice president of payments at Circle.

Tazapay has been a design partner for the Circle Payments Network since 2025. Circle said Tazapay customers should see no disruption to their services, APIs, pricing or support.

Circle’s (CRCL) NYSE-traded shares were down more than 2% in Tuesday’s premarket activity, at last look, according to Yahoo Finance.

Related: Bernstein sees new USDC growth cycle, sets $140 Circle price target

Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $78,000 at Tuesday’s Wall Street open as risk assets fell on renewed Middle East tensions.

Key points:

• Bitcoin briefly dropped under $78,000 for the first time since Sept. 3, following downside pressure on US equities.
• WTI crude oil hit three-month highs near $95 per barrel on renewed military strikes in the Middle East.
• Bitcoin needs to hold $78,300 to avoid a repeat of its May breakdown, analysis warns.

Bitcoin, stocks fall as Middle East woes spark oil surge

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping as low as $77,600 before a modest rebound, its lowest levels since Sept. 3.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

News of Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabian cities and oil infrastructure pressured US stocks at the start of the first trading session after the Labor Day holiday. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index were down by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, at the time of writing.

S&P 500 one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Oil prices showed a more pronounced reaction to the events, with WTI crude surging toward $95 per barrel, its highest since June 8. Brent crude targeted the $100 mark for the first time since July 24.

CFDs on US WTI crude oil one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Commenting on a concurrent record rise in US diesel prices, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted that “inflation expectations continue to mount as a result.” As Cointelegraph reported, this has been especially apparent in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), an inflation gauge which is again due for release on Friday.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, US president Donald Trump downplayed the oil spike, pledging lower prices in the future.

“Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran. Three Dollars a gallon, but ultimately, below Two Dollars a gallon,” he wrote.

Analysis shows BTC price copying failed May breakout

Discussing current BTC price action, trader and analyst Rekt Capital struck a cautious tone, drawing comparisons to Bitcoin’s failed May breakout.

Related: New Bitcoin whales spark sell-side risk as unrealized gains hit $9B

At the time, BTC/USD reached $82,800 before reversing, then consolidating at $78,300 and eventually dropping to new macro lows near $57,000. 

“The retest of ~$78300 is now in progress,” he noted in a post on X.

BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital on X.com

Should the current zone fail to hold as support, BTC/USD would seal another lower high in a series stretching back to October 2025, keeping its 2026 bear market firmly in place.

“Ultimately, a Weekly Close below $78300 followed by a bearish retest just like in early May would likely confirm a breakdown,” Rekt Capital argued in separate analysis on X.

Payment giant Visa is connecting its settlement network with onchain lending, giving stablecoin-linked card programs another way to access working capital, potentially expanding the role of onchain lending from crypto markets into payment settlement.

The company announced Tuesday that settlement data from VisaNet will be combined with blockchain-based lending infrastructure, allowing lenders to finance payment obligations using data from the Visa network. The initiative enables lenders to use Visa settlement records alongside onchain transaction data to assess borrowers and finance their settlement obligations.

Visa highlighted Credit Coop, a blockchain-based protocol that extends credit lines to businesses, as an early example of the model. Credit Coop has financed more than $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023 across participating facilities, involving more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayments.

Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth products and partnerships, said stablecoins are “changing how money moves” and creating opportunities to rethink the financial infrastructure supporting payments.

The initiative comes as Visa’s stablecoin-related payment business expands. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs now operate on its network, with payment volume up nearly 200% year over year. Visa also said its stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times year-ago levels.

Related: Autonomous AI agent economy faces infrastructure gaps: Visa, Artemis

Visa deepens its stablecoin push

Visa has made stablecoins a growing part of its payments strategy, with management saying during its fiscal third-quarter earnings call in July that the company is “investing in each layer of the stablecoin stack,” including blockchains, wallets, infrastructure and applications.

The push includes joining the OpenStandard consortium, which plans to issue the OpenUSD stablecoin and counts Stripe among more than 140 participating businesses.

Visa’s expansion also comes as stablecoin activity continues to grow. Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion in June, while volume over the past 30 days stands at roughly $1.2 trillion, according to Visa’s analytics dashboard.

Related: Visa works with Upbit parent on stablecoin payments, AI commerce

Bitmine Immersion Technologies said it has added another tranche of Ether, tightening the gap between its current holdings and a long-stated corporate target to accumulate 5% of Ethereum’s total supply. The new purchase extends a streak of periodic ETH buys led by chairman Tom Lee, as the company positions its treasury around staking-linked yield.

In an announcement released Tuesday via PR Newswire, Bitmine reported acquiring 28,086 ETH last week. At the time of the filing, the company said the purchase is worth roughly $69.5 million, taking its total Ether holdings to 5.93 million tokens acquired at an average price of $2,495 per ETH.

Key takeaways

• Bitmine purchased 28,086 ETH last week, lifting total holdings to 5.93 million ETH.
• The company says its average acquisition cost is $2,495 per ETH and that the new stake-related positioning supports annualized staking revenue expectations.
• Bitmine reported it has completed 97% of its goal to reach 5% of Ethereum’s total supply within 15 months.
• Third-party tracking indicates Bitmine faces about $5.1 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether treasury, amid ETH weakness in 2026.
• Bitmine’s NYSE-listed shares were down more than 2% at Tuesday’s market open, according to Yahoo Finance.

Ether accumulation keeps the 5% goal in focus

Bitmine’s latest move builds on an acquisition campaign that has been closely tied to its stated objective of owning a substantial share of Ethereum. In the same PR Newswire release, the company said it has now completed 97% of the plan, with the timing framed around a 15-month window.

Just days earlier, Bitmine said it completed a 53,501 ETH purchase, which pushed its holdings to about 4.9% of Ethereum’s 120.7 million circulating supply. With the newest addition, the company is drawing nearer to a target that would make it one of the most concentrated corporate Ether treasuries globally.

Bitmine also reiterated its leadership role in the effort. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph described Bitmine’s ongoing Ether buying streak and Tom Lee’s involvement in steering the treasury strategy.

How the treasury is financed: assets, staking, and expected revenue

Beyond the headline purchases, Bitmine provided a snapshot of its balance sheet. The company said it has $15.7 billion in total assets, including $593 million in marketable securities, cash and other cryptocurrency holdings. It also reported 5.1 million Ether is staked.

The release connects that staking position to an outlook for yield, stating that staked ETH is expected to generate $330 million in annualized staking revenue. Separately, Cointelegraph has previously covered similar staking-related dynamics in the context of evolving institutional Ethereum access, including Fidelity’s staking-linked developments reported around an ETF filing.

For investors, the practical significance is that Bitmine’s strategy is not only about accumulating ETH at scale, but also about capturing ongoing network rewards. That can influence how shareholders evaluate the company’s treasury performance during drawdowns—particularly when ETH’s spot price fluctuates while staking economics continue to accrue.

Mark-to-market pressure remains as Ether trades lower

Even with an aggressive accumulation plan, Bitmine’s reported performance is constrained by the market’s direction. According to Dropstab data cited in the article, the company is facing $5.1 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether holdings.

The pressure aligns with broader price weakness in 2026. Ether has fallen 16% since the beginning of the year and was trading at $2,469 at 1:29 pm UTC on Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap. With Bitmine’s stated average purchase price at $2,495 per ETH, the company’s treasury remains exposed to the same valuation swings affecting the wider market.

Equity reaction and what to watch next

Bitmine’s stock performance also reflects investor uncertainty around the timing and durability of crypto sentiment. Yahoo Finance data cited in the report showed the company’s NYSE-traded BMNR shares were down more than 2% at Tuesday’s market open, with the stock positioned to deepen its year-to-date decline into double digits.

In the near term, the most important question for readers is whether Bitmine can keep aligning new purchases with its 5% target timeline while managing the risk of continued volatility. The company has laid out a clear operational roadmap—weekly or periodic acquisitions alongside a large staked position—but the outcome still depends on Ethereum’s price trajectory and the pace of additional buying required to close the remaining gap to its stated supply share.

As the campaign progresses, investors may want to track three things closely: the pace of additional ETH acquisitions needed to reach (and sustain) the 5% goal, changes to Bitmine’s balance sheet composition and staking throughput, and how equity markets respond to the gap between long-term treasury strategy and near-term mark-to-market losses.