Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, plans to explore new products by incorporating Circle’s stablecoin and tokenized assets.
The agreement, which the companies announced on Thursday, outlines their plans to examine how Circle’s USDC stablecoin and USYC tokenized money market fund could enhance derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses, and related services.
“We believe Circle’s regulated stablecoins and tokenized digital currencies can play a larger role in capital markets as digital currencies become more trusted by market participants as an acceptable equivalent to the U.S. dollar,” said Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange, in a statement. “We are excited to explore the potential use cases for USDC and USYC across ICE’s markets.”
Tether’s USDT dominates the stablecoin market, while USDC holds the second spot.
Circle has ensured USDC’s valuation stands at $60 billion by backing it completely with U.S. government securities and cash-equivalent reserves.
Earlier this year, Circle acquired Hashnote, the company responsible for issuing the USYC money market fund token.
As the Trump administration weakens regulatory opposition to crypto, ICE joins other U.S. financial powerhouses in exploring stablecoins, digital assets, and tokenization. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicted a major crypto reform under President Trump.
Fidelity Investments recently filed to create a tokenized money market fund and is reportedly working on a stablecoin. Meanwhile, CME Group revealed that it is piloting tokenization through Google Cloud’s private distributed ledger, aiming to launch services next year.
Tokenization uses blockchain technology to digitize financial assets like bonds, funds, and securities, improving operational performance.
In May, at a Consensus 2024 panel, Martin hinted that the firm might expand into digital assets, stating that it would consider crypto trading if U.S. regulators provided clearer guidelines.
Circle has collaborated with multiple firms in the past to drive the adoption of USDC.
In December 2024, the USDC issuer partnered with Binance, a top cryptocurrency exchange, to increase USDC adoption.
As a result of this partnership, Binance seamlessly integrated USDC into its platform, granting over 240 million users access for transactions, savings, and payments.
To expand USDC’s reach, Circle collaborated with BVNK in October 2024 and integrated USDC into the company’s payment services.
This agreement enabled businesses to integrate USDC into their payment processes, supporting global payroll and customer transactions.
