NEW YORK, March 24, 2026, 12:16 EDT. Circle
Circle Internet Group on Tuesday said an affiliate has joined forces with Sasai Fintech, which is part of Nvidia-backed Cassava Technologies, aiming to boost USDC’s reach in Africa for business payments, remittances, and wallet offerings. USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, is designed to maintain a constant value. According to Circle, holders can redeem USDC 1:1 for U.S. dollars. Circle
Timing is crucial for Circle. In the fourth quarter, USDC’s circulation jumped 72% year-over-year to $75.3 billion, pushing revenue ahead of expectations. Seaport Research Partners’ Jeff Cantwell called the token “scaling rapidly” at the time. Card networks and payment companies have also been ramping up their stablecoin initiatives. Reuters
Africa stands out as a key proving ground. Almost 80% of those surveyed in Nigeria and South Africa back in February said they already had stablecoins, according to a study. Chris Harmse, co-founder of BVNK, pointed out that people in the region often turn to stablecoins when conventional payment systems are “slow, expensive, or unreliable.” Reuters
Circle said its partnership aims to put USDC to work in real-world scenarios, slashing costs, frictions, and settlement times for Sasai’s business and retail customers. Sasai handles business payments, cross-border transfers for individuals and remittance operators, plus mobile-wallet offerings. Cassava founder Strive Masiyiwa described Africa’s digital economy as moving into “a new era,” while Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire pointed to the region as a “significant opportunity” for internet-based finance. Circle
Circle’s footprint across Africa keeps expanding. Back in April 2025, the company partnered with payments gateway Onafriq, running pilots for USDC-based remittance and settlement in over 40 African countries. This month, Sasai rolled out a South Africa-focused remittance app in collaboration with Western Union. onafriq
The turf war is heating up beyond Africa. Visa has started testing USDC settlement with a number of U.S. institutions, while Mastercard just struck a deal to acquire stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for as much as $1.8 billion. Both card giants are racing to grab early ground in blockchain-driven cross-border payments. Reuters
But making token rails work for daily payments remains a tough nut to crack. Back in January, Visa’s crypto chief acknowledged the lack of broad merchant acceptance, saying there’s still no scale. Reuters, citing BCG, put the share of stablecoin transactions used for buying goods or services at just 6%. Dollar-linked tokens have also drawn fire from regulators in emerging markets, who say these coins could hasten capital flight and push deeper dollarisation. Reuters
Cassava disclosed last year that Nvidia had invested in the company. For Circle, working with Sasai means expanding its roster of African partners, as firms look to speed up and lower the cost of moving money across borders. Cassava Tech
