Intercontinental Exchange Inc. ICE Has Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Circle USDC/USD to Assess the Use of USDC Stablecoin

Under the agreement announced Thursday, ICE and Circle will jointly explore how USDC—a dollar-pegged stablecoin with over $60 billion in circulation—can be applied across derivatives

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Circle USDC/USD to assess the use of the latter's USDC stablecoin and tokenized yield product, USYC.

The agreement, announced Thursday, will see ICE and Circle jointly explore how USDC—a dollar-pegged stablecoin with over $60 billion in circulation—can be applied across derivatives, clearing, and data services offered by ICE.

ICE is also examining Circle's US Yield Coin (USYC), which is designed to deliver yield from U.S. money market instruments in a tokenized format.

Lynn Martin, President of the New York Stock Exchange, highlighted the growing significance of stablecoins in capital markets.

"We believe Circle's 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," Martin said.

For his part, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire noted that ICE's market reach could facilitate broader adoption of USDC within regulated financial domains.

"ICE's reputation and global network across markets offer a unique pathway for Circle to integrate USDC into major new use cases," Allaire said.

The MoU details plans to explore the integration of USDC and USYC across ICE's ecosystem, which encompasses derivatives exchanges and clearinghouses.

Launched in 2018, USDC is backed by a combination of cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries, primarily channeled through Circle's SEC-registered Reserve Fund.

The token is accessible to approximately 600 million wallets and supports use cases ranging from payments and crypto trading to dollar-denominated storage, according to Circle.