Circle taps Safe as 'premier institutional storage solution' for USDC stablecoin

Circle Internet Group (ticker CRCL) has tapped crypto security platform Safe as a "premier institutional storage solution" for its USDC stablecoin.

"As institutions increasingly move onchain, they need trusted, scalable infrastructure to manage capital with confidence. Safe has already proven itself as an important platform for USDC adoption at scale, and this partnership underscores the growing demand for regulated, secure digital dollars in institutional treasury management and DeFi," Circle Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi said in a statement on Tuesday.

Safe, formerly Gnosis Safe, is a multisig-based "smart account" platform that secures over $60 billion in digital assets, including at least $2.5 billion in USDC, today. The new partnership will help position "USDC at the core of the Safe ecosystem," making it “a home for institutional stablecoin DeFi,” Safe founder Lukas Schor said.

According to Dune data, Safe has already processed $25 billion worth of USDC transfers this year, on pace to double its 2024 volume.

"Safe's programmable multi-signature technology, which already powers nearly 4% of all Ethereum transactions, provides the institutional-grade security required for large-scale treasury operations while maintaining direct access to DeFi's deepest liquidity pools, where USDC is a dominant asset," the teams wrote.

The total stablecoin market cap surpassed $300 billion for the first time earlier this month, with Circle’s USDC accounting for nearly a quarter of that amount.