Circle Internet Financial (Circle), the digital fintech firm, is partnering with Fuze, MENA’s digital assets infrastructure provider, to explore digital assets initiatives. Circle, the issuer of the US-dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, has plans to work alongside Fuze to expand the adoption of USDC amongst new customers in the region, such as banks, fintechs, traditional enterprises and Web3 firms.
The scope of the agreement between Circle and Fuze covers the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, hoping to support the use of USDC in these regions and the piloting of new use cases relevant to these markets.
Fuze, which was co-founded by Ali Yusuf, COO Arpit Mehta and CTO Srijan Shetty, has made significant strides towards building digital assets infrastructure across the region. This includes securing robust regulation and licensing and receiving the largest seed funding round for a digital assets start-up in MENA history. Fuze continues to accelerate its product implementation and growth, in close collaboration with local and regional regulators.
Miriam Kiwan, VP of partnerships and business development for MENA at Circle, said: “This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our efforts to enhance financial inclusion and drive the adoption of full-reserve payment stablecoins across MENA.
“By joining forces with Fuze, we aim to expand the accessibility and usage of USDC, while fostering closer integration between regional and global finance. We look forward to a successful partnership that propels financial innovation and creates new opportunities for individuals and businesses in these dynamic markets.”
Mohammed Ali Yusuf, co-founder and CEO of Fuze, also added: “Circle and Fuze share a common vision to create more efficient financial services and deliver digital assets infrastructure that builds a more connected, inclusive economy. We look forward to fostering a close working relationship with the Circle team and are excited about developing the future of finance together.”
