Bybit partners with Circle to scale USDC access across trading and settlement

• Bybit and Circle deepen USDC integration to boost liquidity, fiat access, and cross-chain support.
• USDC nears $80B market cap in 2025 as regulated stablecoins gain global momentum.
• Partnership comes amid fierce stablecoin competition, with Tether and USDC both expanding rapidly.

Circle and cryptocurrency exchange Bybit have entered a new phase of collaboration aimed at expanding how USDC operates across global markets.

The announcement was made on Monday and reflects a rising emphasis on regulated stablecoins as users demand clearer liquidity pathways, stronger compliance standards, and faster settlement.

The partnership arrives during a period when USDC is approaching an $80 billion market cap, marking one of the fastest expansions in the stablecoin sector this year.

Broader USDC access across Bybit’s ecosystem

Bybit has partnered with an affiliate of Circle to widen the reach of USDC within its trading and payment infrastructure.

The exchange plans to strengthen how users access the stablecoin across spot markets, derivatives platforms, and payment channels.

This marks a continuation of Bybit’s long-running effort to integrate USDC into its core systems, supporting more predictable liquidity and creating a consistent experience across multiple products.

The goal is to refine the underlying rails that allow users to trade, store, and move USDC with improved stability.

Improving liquidity, fiat connectivity, and cross-chain support

A major part of the collaboration focuses on enhancing how users convert between fiat and USDC.

Bybit and Circle are working on expanding both on-ramps and off-ramps so customers can move funds more efficiently.

The partnership also aims to raise liquidity quality, which is increasingly important as stablecoins become embedded in everyday trading activity.

Alongside this, the firms plan to expand cross-chain support for USDC, allowing the stablecoin to operate across more networks with higher reliability.

These upgrades align with Circle’s regulatory framework in the EEA under MiCA, giving the company a stronger position in regions that prioritise compliance.

Deepening integration after years of stablecoin expansion

USDC has been part of Bybit’s trading infrastructure for several years.

The exchange first introduced the stablecoin through spot and perpetual trading pairs, then expanded it to savings products, institutional settlement features, conversion channels, and fiat payment tools.

The new partnership builds on this foundation by improving liquidity provisioning and strengthening the systems that support settlement and use cases.

With USDC now operating across a wide range of services on the platform, the added infrastructure is designed to support growth in both retail and institutional demand.

USDC posts rapid market cap growth in 2025

The timing of the partnership aligns with a strong year of expansion for USDC.

The stablecoin’s market cap has increased by 77% since 1 January 2025, rising from about $44 billion to $78 billion.

Source: CoinGecko

This surge has been supported by Circle’s engagement with traditional finance through collaborations with organisations such as Deutsche Börse and Mastercard.

The trend highlights the growing role of regulated stablecoins in both decentralised and institutional environments, as users look for predictable and transparent digital dollar instruments.

Stablecoin competition rises as Tether also expands

Bybit’s partnership with Circle unfolds within a competitive stablecoin landscape.

Tether, the largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, has seen its supply increase from $137 billion to $185.6 billion since the beginning of the year, a rise of about 36%.

The sector’s rapid expansion is pushing exchanges to refine their stablecoin strategies and strengthen the systems that support them.

Bybit maintains support for multiple stablecoins and continues to emphasise user choice as it updates its architecture for global markets.

The post Bybit partners with Circle to scale USDC access across trading and settlement appeared first on CoinJournal.