Circle Internet Group closed with a 10.7% gain on Wednesday

Shares in Circle Internet Group closed with a 10.7% gain on Wednesday after the stablecoin issuer partnered with Brazilian fintech Matera to support multicurrency bank

Shares in Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) closed with a 10.7% gain on Wednesday after the stablecoin issuer partnered with Brazilian fintech Matera to support multicurrency bank payments, while its flagship stablecoin USDC also went live on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s World Chain.

World, formerly Worldcoin, said on Wednesday that around 2 million of its users held bridged USDC (USDC), a type of cryptocurrency that represents value ported across from another blockchain, which is “now upgraded to native USDC issued directly by Circle.”

Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, which allows USDC to be quickly transferred across blockchain, also went live for World’s 27 million users, who joined the network by scanning their eyes to prove they’re humans.

.@Circle's native @USDC stablecoin is now available on World.

We're also launching Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, enabling seamless USDC transfer to and from World Chain. Around 2M users on World today hold bridged USDC, which is now upgraded to native USDC issued by Circle.

— World (@world) August 16, 2023

World said that users had been using USDC on the network for remittances and in Mini Apps, which provide tools for payments and e-commerce, among other things.

Circle and Matera link up for bank payments

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Matera said on Wednesday that it partnered with Circle to enable the country’s banks to support multi-currency accounts.

Matera said it will use its real-time ledger, Digital Twin, to allow financial institutions to hold Circle’s USDC directly and have Brazilian reals, US dollars and the stablecoin in the same environmental “without requiring institutions to build complex infrastructure from scratch.”

The solution will also connect to local payment rails, including the Central Bank of Brazil’s real-time payment system Pix, and would allow USDC to be used in transactions and transfers.

“Interoperability between stablecoins and local currency accounts is no longer a side project — it’s now at the heart of the financial system,” Matera CEO Carlos Netto said. “This is a game-changer for banks and fintechs looking to operate globally with near-instant settlement and low costs.”

Circle shares jump over 10%

Shares in Circle (CRCL) closed trading on Wednesday up nearly 10.7% with news of the two deals, falling after-hours by 0.2% to just under $117, according to Yahoo Finance.

The stablecoin issuer went public in the US on June 5 in an upsized offering, and its stock price has since surged by nearly 280% since it kicked off trading at $31.

World made US debut in April

World was founded in 2019 by the San Francisco and Berlin-based Tools for Humanity but only launched to US users at the end of April, debuting in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco.

Related: US senators question Meta’s stablecoin plans amid GENIUS Act debate

World Chain users who verify their identity via scanning their face and eyes with the company’s mirrored spherical device called an Orb are given the blockchain’s crypto token, Worldcoin (WLD), as a reward.

World had skirted launching in the US due to regulatory concerns over offering the token, which it has now seemingly put aside under the crypto-friendly Trump administration.

The company has faced probes from regulators outside the US over privacy concerns, and some jurisdictions, including Spain and Portugal, had suspended World’s activities in their countries over its data collection practices.