Circle Announces Major Moves: Acquisition, Partnership, and Ecosystem Expansion

Circle, the leading global fintech firm behind USDC, has made three significant announcements:

Acquisition of Hashnote

Circle has acquired Hashnote, the issuer of USYC, the world’s largest tokenized money market fund, with $1.52 Billion deployed into USYC as of January 15, 2025, according to 3rd-party analysts RWA.xyz. This acquisition positions Circle as a leader in tokenized asset management and expands its capabilities in the digital financial ecosystem.

Commenting on the acquisition in an X post , Allaire said: “We are thrilled to bring the Hashnote team and family into Circle. As one of the leading pioneers of tokenization, we see an enormous and immediate opportunity to bring yield-bearing collateral into crypto market structures. Seamless integration with USDC will enable market participants to convert between USDC and USYC on a 24/7/365 basis.”

Hashnote’s expertise in TMMFs aligns with Circle’s vision of merging traditional financial practices with the benefits of blockchain, including real-time settlement, programmability, and composability.

“Hashnote’s beginnings are rooted in recognizing the pivotal role blockchain-based transparency and settlement would play in future financial transactions,” said Leo Mizuhara, CEO and Founder of Hashnote. “Joining Circle increases our ability to rapidly scale adoption by pairing USDC, a widely-used, liquid payment and trading stablecoin, with USYC, a safe, Tokenized Money Market Fund for yield-bearing collateral.” 

Strategic Partnership with DRW

Circle has entered into a strategic partnership with DRW, a renowned global trading firm. This collaboration is aimed at driving the adoption of USDC and USDY across cryptocurrency markets and traditional finance (TradFi).

Circle has expanded its long-standing relationship with DRW through its subsidiary Cumberland. In his X post, Allaire described Don Wilson, DRW’s founder, as a “true visionary in markets” and highlighted Cumberland’s vital role as a leading liquidity provider in crypto.

“Through this expanded partnership, Cumberland will expand its liquidity and settlement services for USDC and USYC, driving broader institutional adoption in crypto,” Allaire said. “We will work together to bring these onchain innovations into traditional financial markets, where tokenized cash and collateral can unlock enormous value for every financial market participant,” he added.

Deployment of USDC on Canton

Circle is deploying native USDC on Canton, a leading public blockchain for private and secure financial applications. Canton already supports over $3.6 trillion in real-world asset issuance and facilitates more than $1.5 trillion in monthly repo transactions. Allaire emphasized that integrating USDC with Canton will provide “seamless and 24/7/365 convertibility between collateral and cash for use in TradFi markets onchain”.

These efforts underline Circle’s commitment to integrating its digital dollar solutions into both the crypto and TradFi landscapes, fostering innovation and broader utility.

Commenting on these developments, Don Wilson, CEO and Founder of DRW, said: “For over a decade I have championed the opportunity for traditional finance to be made more efficient and resilient by leveraging public blockchains. I am excited to partner with Circle in its quest to make this a reality. By utilizing the Canton blockchain, which offers configurable privacy, for USDC, and acquiring Hashnote, which issues USYC, Circle unites the key elements necessary to enable 24/7 collateral and variation margin movement across both crypto and traditional markets.”