Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Is Exploring the Use of Circle Internet Financial Ltd.'s USDC Stablecoin

Intercontinental Exchange Inc., parent of the New York Stock Exchange, is joining with Circle Internet Financial Ltd. to explore the use of the crypto firm's USDC stablecoin

Intercontinental Exchange Inc., parent of the New York Stock Exchange, is joining with Circle Internet Financial Ltd. to explore the use of the crypto firm’s USDC stablecoin, as well as tokenized money market funds, to develop new products.

The companies will also examine how to integrate ICE’s traditional assets and services with Circle’s digital assets technology, according to a statement on Thursday.

“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 US dollar,” Lynn Martin, president of the NYSE, said in a statement.

Circle and ICE will explore using Circle's stablecoins and products within ICE’s derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and other markets. The New York-based company is the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin after Tether Holdings SA’s USDT token. There are about $60 billion in USDC tokens outstanding.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that aim to maintain a one-to-one value with a less volatile asset, typically the dollar, and are most often used by crypto traders to move in and out of positions. They’ve also become more useful for firms looking to move money across borders, facilitate faster and cheaper digital payments and for investors looking to trade and settle traditional assets such as bonds using blockchain technology.

On Wednesday, Fidelity Investments said it was testing a stablecoin, and Wyoming announced that it expected to launch its own by July.

Two bills are traveling through the US House and Senate that are designed to give stablecoins a bigger role in the global payments infrastructure. Donald Trump has voiced his support for the measures. The President’s crypto project World Liberty Financial said on Tuesday it plans to launch a stablecoin redeemable one-for-one with the dollar.

Shares of ICE were little changed at $175.92 as of 9:38 a.m. in New York.