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Circle Enlists Sasai to Expand USDC for Africa Cross-Border Payments

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Crypto Breaking News

Circle is expanding the use of its USD Coin (USDC) across Africa through a strategic partnership with Sasai Fintech. The collaboration aims to weave USDC into Sasai’s payments fabric, covering cross-border transfers, enterprise payments, and consumer wallets, with the goal of lowering costs and shortening settlement times for users across multiple markets.

In a Business Wire release, Circle and Sasai described integrating USDC into Sasai’s infrastructure to unlock practical on-chain use cases for the stablecoin within Sasai’s network. Sasai operates digital payments services across several African markets, and the partnership would connect Circle’s on-chain rails with Sasai’s cross-border and mobile-payment ecosystem.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire framed the collaboration as part of the company’s broader focus on high-growth payment corridors in emerging markets, while Cassava Technologies Chairman Strive Masiyiwa highlighted the potential to broaden access to digital financial services for both businesses and consumers.

Data from DefiLlama shows USDC remains the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, at roughly $78.6 billion, trailing only Tether’s USDT, which sits around $184.1 billion. The size of USDC liquidity underscores the potential scale that could flow into Africa’s payments rails as the ecosystem grows.

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The rise of crypto and stablecoins in Africa

Africa has witnessed a notable uptick in crypto activity, with Sub-Saharan Africa showing a 52% year-over-year increase in on-chain activity in the 12 months through June 2025, tallying more than $205 billion in on-chain value, according to Chainalysis data cited in recent market coverage. Nigeria accounted for the largest share of that activity—over $92 billion—followed by South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Remittances, cross-border payments, and hedging against currency volatility are among the leading use cases driving this surge.

The region’s crypto expansion is drawing attention from global players expanding into Africa. For example, Blockchain.com announced Ghana-focused expansion as part of its broader push across the continent, reflecting growing demand for retail and institutional access to digital assets and stablecoins as a payment and settlement layer.

Regulatory developments are also beginning to mature alongside growth. Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 crypto trading platforms to operate within a regulatory sandbox framework under the country’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, signaling a structured pathway for crypto services to scale with oversight.

Beyond the technology itself, policymakers and industry participants emphasize stablecoins as a faster, lower-cost alternative to traditional remittance routes. The World Bank continues to highlight an urgent cost challenge: while the global target is to bring average remittance costs below 3%, many economies in Sub-Saharan Africa still register higher levels. A World Bank analysis noted that in 2023 several economies, including Sierra Leone, Uganda, Angola, Botswana, and Zambia, faced remittance costs above 7%.

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What this partnership signals for investors and users

The Circle–Sasai collaboration arrives as Africa’s payments ecosystem matures, with an emphasis on onboarding more people into digital finance through stablecoins and mobile-first services. For investors, the deal highlights a growing preference among builders and operators to anchor on-chain liquidity with regionally relevant rails. By anchoring USDC into Sasai’s breadth of services—cross-border transfers, enterprise payments, and consumer wallets—the collaboration could reduce settlement times and processing costs for a broad set of use cases, from small-business payments to worker remittances.

For users, the on-ramp to digital finance in Africa can become more accessible and affordable as stablecoin rails are integrated with everyday payment flows. The combination of Sasai’s regional reach and Circle’s global on-chain platform could create a more seamless experience for individuals and businesses moving money across borders or paying suppliers in other countries, with USDC serving as the common settlement asset.

On the regulatory front, the Ghana sandbox move demonstrates how governments are approaching crypto infrastructure with a combination of oversight and opportunity. This framework can help standardize participation for exchanges and wallets while preserving consumer protections, a development that could encourage broader adoption and more predictable interoperability between on-chain assets and traditional payment rails.

Another dynamic to watch is the broader regional push by established crypto firms into Africa. The combination of rising adoption, improving regulatory clarity, and the entry of global players into local ecosystems could accelerate the velocity of stablecoin use, especially in corridors where remittances and cross-border payments have historically been costlier and slower. If the trend continues, we could see more enterprise-grade solutions built on USDC that specifically target Africa’s fragmented payment landscape, potentially unlocking new business models for remittance corridors, supplier payments, and consumer wallets alike.

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The next few quarters will be critical for measuring impact. Key questions include how quickly Sasai can operationalize USDC rails across its markets, what the actual cost savings look like for end users, and how regulators across the region balance supervision with innovation. Market participants will also be watching for concrete usage metrics—volume, settlement times, and cross-border transaction costs—as real-world adoption begins to take hold. As Africa’s crypto infrastructure evolves, collaborations like Circle and Sasai’s could lay the groundwork for a more inclusive digital economy where stablecoins help bridge traditional finance and mobile-first financial services.

Readers should watch for updates on deployment milestones, regulatory progress, and early usage data from Sasai’s network as USDC-enabled services begin to roll out across the continent. The collaboration represents more than a single partnership; it signals a notable shift toward scalable, on-chain payment rails tailored for Africa’s distinctive market dynamics.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Why Mastercard Is Buying Stablecoin Infrastructure Instead of a Token

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Why Mastercard Is Buying Stablecoin Infrastructure Instead of a Token

Why Mastercard’s BVNK acquisition is a strategic shift

Mastercard’s deal to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion goes beyond simply entering the crypto space. It reflects a well-thought-out strategic redirection.

Rather than introducing its own stablecoin, Mastercard has opted to gain control of the underlying infrastructure that links conventional finance to blockchain-enabled payments.

This approach prompts an important question: Why would a major player in payments decide against creating its own digital currency and instead invest in the systems that facilitate its movement?

The explanation centers on regulatory considerations, the ability to scale and sustained influence over the core infrastructure of digital finance.

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What BVNK brings to the table

BVNK does not issue stablecoins and operates as a payments infrastructure provider. Robust infrastructure plays an important role in the functioning of the stablecoin ecosystem.

It allows businesses to:

  • Send and receive payments with stablecoins

  • Perform smooth conversions between fiat currencies and crypto

  • Operate in more than 130 countries

As a result, BVNK serves as a connector between two distinct financial ecosystems:

  • Conventional payment networks, including banks, card networks and fiat channels

  • Blockchain networks, including stablecoins, crypto wallets and on-chain transactions

Instead of developing a new form of currency, BVNK helps businesses utilize the ones already available with greater efficiency.

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Did you know? Stablecoins process trillions of dollars in annual transaction volume and often rival major card networks. Yet many users do not realize they are interacting with blockchain-based systems behind the scenes when using certain fintech payment services.

Objective of Mastercard: Connecting financial networks

Mastercard serves as a connector of financial networks, functioning as a network of networks. Rather than trying to compete with different forms of digital money, Mastercard aims to play the role of an integrator that links them all seamlessly.

This approach involves bringing together:

  • Traditional card-based payment systems

  • Core banking infrastructure

  • Blockchain-based transaction rails

According to company leadership, the future payments landscape is expected to feature an array of digital money forms, such as:

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Why Mastercard has chosen not to issue its own stablecoin

On the surface, creating a stablecoin issued by Mastercard might appear to be a natural step. However, there are compelling reasons the company has decided against it:

Stringent regulatory compliance

Stablecoin issuers are encountering growing regulatory pressure. Emerging frameworks, such as the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins), are designed to enforce:

  • Strict reserve requirements

  • Enhanced transparency obligations

  • Oversight similar to that applied to traditional banks

By issuing a stablecoin, Mastercard would effectively become a regulated financial issuer, which would introduce substantial operational and compliance complexity.

Risks tied to the balance sheet

Enterprises that issue stablecoins are required to hold reserves, typically in cash or government securities, to fully back the tokens in circulation. This creates several challenges, including:

  • Complex liquidity management

  • Potential redemption pressures

  • Vulnerability to shifts in market conditions

By steering clear of issuance, Mastercard avoids taking on these financial risks and obligations.

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Preserving harmony with partners

Mastercard maintains close partnerships with:

Introducing its own stablecoin would risk placing Mastercard in direct competition with these key collaborators within its ecosystem. By focusing on infrastructure instead, Mastercard can remain in a neutral position that serves rather than challenges its partners.

Did you know? The concept of “tokenized deposits” is gaining traction among banks, where traditional money is digitized on a blockchain. However, it remains within regulated banking systems, offering a potential alternative to privately issued stablecoins.

Infrastructure offers Mastercard more leverage

Controlling infrastructure generally delivers greater power than controlling a single asset. A stablecoin issuer earns profits exclusively from its own token. An infrastructure provider, however, captures value from transactions involving multiple tokens.

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This model enables Mastercard to:

  • Support Tether USDt (USDT), USDC (USDC) and emerging bank-issued tokens

  • Generate fees from a broad spectrum of use cases

  • Grow in tandem with the entire ecosystem rather than being limited to one product

With this step, Mastercard is positioning itself to capture value across digital payment flows.

Why timing is critical at this juncture

The acquisition aligns with a surge in institutional interest in stablecoins, which have the potential to fundamentally transform global payments over the coming decade.

Several converging trends reinforce this momentum:

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  • Significantly faster and more cost-effective cross-border transactions

  • Growing regulatory clarity

  • Expanding adoption among fintech companies and large enterprises

Stablecoins have moved beyond the experimental phase and are increasingly viewed as foundational elements of financial infrastructure.

Did you know? Cross-border payments through traditional banking can involve up to five intermediaries. Stablecoin-based transfers can reduce this to just two endpoints, dramatically cutting both time and cost.

Where Visa, Coinbase and others fit in

Mastercard faces competition in this space. Visa has made investments in BVNK, while Coinbase previously considered acquiring the company before withdrawing.

This reflects a wider industry convergence:

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  • Traditional financial institutions are advancing into blockchain territory

  • Crypto-native companies are seeking deeper integration with established payment networks

Nevertheless, approaches vary and many crypto firms prioritize issuing their own tokens. Major payment networks emphasize infrastructure and broad distribution.

Why infrastructure wins in cross-border payments

Conventional cross-border payments are hampered by delays, often spanning days, high fees and the involvement of numerous intermediaries.

On the other hand, stablecoin-based systems deliver:

By incorporating infrastructure such as BVNK, Mastercard can introduce these benefits into its established network without needing to replace it entirely.

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Mastercard’s strategy reduces the barriers to adoption. Banks and fintechs gain the ability to:

  • Provide stablecoin services without developing their own blockchain systems

  • Use global payment rails more efficiently

  • Seamlessly incorporate digital currency features into their current offerings

This approach cements Mastercard’s position as a backend enabler for the future of finance.

Associated risks and open questions

Despite the promise of this infrastructure-focused strategy for Mastercard, meaningful challenges and uncertainties remain that could influence its long-term outcome.

These include:

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  • Persistent regulatory differences and fragmentation across jurisdictions, creating compliance hurdles and inconsistent operating environments for cross-border activities

  • Heavy reliance on external stablecoins issued and managed by third parties, which introduces dependency risks related to their stability, governance and continued availability

  • Intensifying competition from CBDCs as well as powerful technology giants entering the payments space with their own solutions and vast user bases

  • Potential margin compression in infrastructure-based services, as increased competition and scale drive fees downward over time

Evolving geopolitical tensions, shifts in monetary policy and unforeseen technological disruptions could further complicate the path forward.

Ultimately, the success and durability of Mastercard’s approach will depend on how the broader stablecoin ecosystem continues to develop and mature.

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Ethereum Devs Launch Post-Quantum Resource Hub

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Ethereum Devs Launch Post-Quantum Resource Hub

A group of Ethereum developers has launched a resource hub focused on protecting the blockchain from future quantum computing threats and securing the billions of dollars worth of value the network secures.

The “Post-Quantum Ethereum” website, launched on Tuesday by members of the Ethereum Foundation, says the organization’s new Post-Quantum team is planning to implement quantum solutions into Ethereum at the protocol level by 2029, with solutions targeting the execution layer to follow.

While the Post-Quantum team said no imminent quantum threat exists for cryptography-secured blockchains, early action is necessary due to the complexity involved:

“Migrating a decentralized, global protocol takes years of coordination, engineering, and formal verification,” the team said. “The work must begin well before the threat arrives.”

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Source: Ethereum Foundation

Concerns that quantum computers could eventually break blockchain cryptography have fueled industry-wide fear around private keys and wallet security, prompting broader debate over how the sector should prepare as the technology develops.

Most industry analysts acknowledge that quantum computing poses some level of threat to crypto. Galaxy Digital analyst Will Owens has said only crypto wallets with exposed public keys are vulnerable, while others, such as Capriole Investments’ Charles Edwards, have said all coins are at risk.

Post-Quantum team building SNARK-based signatures

Many crypto developers are focused on how quantum-safe solutions can be implemented into cryptographic signatures to fight off potential attacks.