Celo has announced that Circle will launch USDC natively on the Celo network to accelerate the mainstream adoption of digital currencies and assets with fresh use cases. The carbon-negative, mobile-first, EVM-compatible blockchain will be joining hands with USDC, the second-largest stablecoin per market capitalization in the world.

The Celo network powers Opera’s Minipay, a data-efficient stablecoins wallet in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana that has surpassed over 1 million users since its launch in September 2023. Valora, a mobile-first crypto wallet, is also powered by the Celo network. The rising adoption of stablecoins on the continent coincides with the growing need for easy, permissionless, and fast cross-border transfer of value across the continent and beyond.

Adding USDC to Celo unlocks stablecoin use cases like savings, lending, P2P transactions, cross-border payments, and access to local currencies such as cREAL and eXOF, tied to the values of the Brazilian Real and the CFA Franc respectively in 14 sub-Saharan African countries.

Isha Varshney, Head of Strategy and Innovation at the Celo Foundation, said in a statement, "As a leader in driving real-world adoption of crypto, the Celo ecosystem is excited to bring more RWAs onchain through our partnership with Circle and the launch of USDC on Celo. We want to be the best ecosystem for stablecoins, which has proven to be among the industry's prevailing use cases, as institutional investors come into Web3."

This integration is particularly a game-changer because it allows businesses and developers on the continent to provide their users and customers with fast, efficient, and secure payments and a stable store of value. Business owners and operators in the Celo ecosystem will also benefit from institutional on-/off-ramps like Circle Mint. This service is available to institutional and enterprise customers, enabling greater on-chain activity and the conversion of USDC to and from local currencies.

Additionally, cLabs, the team behind Celo, proposes allowing users to pay for network gas fees using USDC stablecoins.

“Circle is proud to join the mission-driven Celo ecosystem as a blockchain that’s known for providing fast, low-cost payments worldwide,” said Shamus Noonan, Senior Manager, Business Development at Circle. “This partnership will help broaden access for USDC and leverage Celo’s mobile-first user-base in regions where blockchain adoption is highest.”