Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoins, is making headlines again with its recently announced regulatory approvals and partnership in Japan. In a statement published on 25 March 2025, Circle disclosed that it has officially entered the Japanese market.

The company will be leveraging its Japanese entity, Circle Japan KK, alongside its joint venture with Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings, to enable the first-ever adoption of USDC in the country.

The partnership is a result of SBI VC Trade, a cryptocurrency exchange platform and a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, securing certification from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) to list USDC under the country’s stablecoin regulatory framework.

Parallelly, Circle has unveiled ongoing plans by leading exchanges Binance Japan, bitbank, and bitFlyer to list and distribute USDC in the near future.

🇯🇵 Circle is expanding in Japan — Circle Japan KK, our local entity to build presence and drive digital finance innovation in the market!
With @sbivc_official launching USDC tomorrow and top exchanges onboard to list soon, Japan’s stablecoin market is set for growth.
A major… pic.twitter.com/HOFTRs6Qo4
— Circle (@circle) March 24, 2025

This partnership allows Circle to utilize SBI VC Trade to initiate a full-scale launch of USDC on 26 March 2025.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire pointed to Japan’s regulatory leadership in blockchain and stablecoin regulation and stated, “Japan has been out in front of adoption of Web3 and blockchain technology for years, and Japan’s regulatory leadership has been similarly out in front on clear rules for use of stablecoins in the Japanese financial system.”

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Circle Continues Global Expansion, USDC Approval By Japan Stands As Latest Milestone

Clearly, Circle wants to establish its presence globally in regulated markets and has been quite aggressive in its USDC adoption strategy over the past six months. A quick peep into December 2024 reveals Circle and Binance joining hands to strengthen and expand the adoption of USDC while also supporting the development of global digital assets and a broader financial services ecosystem.

In February 2025, Circle’s USDC and EURC, the euro-backed stablecoin, became the first stablecoins to be approved by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The following month witnessed USDC obtaining approval from Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking another step forward in expanding Circle’s global footprint.

GCash, a Philippines-based digital wallet provider, added support for USDC on March 18, 2025. The platform, utilized by approximately 100 million users, has seen stablecoins play an increasingly important role in its remittance market, which handles over $65 billion in annual transactions.

The largest and most widely used digital money app in the Philippines, GCash, just announced support for USDC in their mobile wallet. Another ~100m users being brought into Circle’s stablecoin network. https://t.co/ruscNYYjJI
— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) March 21, 2025

With Japan representing Circle’s latest milestone in the Asian market, the CEO and President of SBI Holdings, Yoshitaka Kitao, underlined that this partnership with Circle aligns with their broader strategy to accelerate blockchain-based finance in Japan.

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USDC’s Increasing Global Adoption Rate

As per Circle’s report, USDC has now outpaced the growth of all other large, global stablecoins by growing at a staggering 78% year-on-year. Its all-time transaction volume has surpassed the $20 trillion mark, with its monthly transaction volume reaching $1 trillion in November 2024.

The USDC has bridged more than $850 billion between fiat currency and supported blockchains since 2018 and is now available to more than 500 million users through user wallets and consumer apps across 180 countries and on 16 different blockchains.

Since Binance adopted the USDC for its corporate treasury, more than 250 million people have been provided access to the stablecoin for trading and transactions. Moreover, Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) has facilitated more than $20 billion in USDC transfers through its seamless interoperability across supported blockchain networks.

As per DefiLlama’s data, USDC’s market capitalization as of March 25, 2025, was $59.75 billion, with $2.6 billion made in just the last 30 days.

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Key Takeaways

• Circle partners with SBI Holdings to launch USDC in Japan.
• USDC is the first stablecoin approved under Japan’s regulatory framework.
• USDC has outpaced other large global stablecoins by growing at a staggering 78% year over year.