Conversation with Circle Chief Commercial Officer: Partnering with Mastercard to Accelerate Crypto Payment Adoption, Stablecoins' Future Goes Beyond Trading

Author: Mastercard

Translation: Felix, PANews

Circle is best known for its stablecoin USDC, which currently has a circulating market cap of over $77 billion, making it one of the largest stablecoins in the world. But Circle’s ambitions go far beyond that.

Circle is working to build the essential infrastructure to make blockchain payments and financial services truly accessible to everyday users. To this end, Circle offers developer tools, the Circle Payment Network, and its self-developed blockchain Arc, aiming to provide blockchain-based payment capabilities for nearly all companies.

Kash Razzaghi, Chief Business Officer responsible for advancing these partnerships and strategies, said: “We are building an internet finance platform that can genuinely help facilitate and accelerate the flow of funds onto the chain.”

The shift of financial infrastructure to blockchain is expected to make capital movement faster, cheaper, and more transparent. He noted that the task of driving the evolution of the entire payment ecosystem is too great for any single entity to accomplish alone. Therefore, Circle collaborates with multiple companies, including Mastercard, to promote the use and acceptance of stablecoins worldwide. It is reported that Mastercard launched a new crypto partnership program this week, with Circle joining the initiative.

“This requires the collective effort of the entire community,” Razzaghi added. “Mastercard’s involvement greatly enhances the credibility of this technology and demonstrates the future potential of the industry.”

Shortly after returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Razzaghi was interviewed by Mastercard. At Davos, he engaged with professionals from finance and financial services sectors, aiming to attract more people to join the growing blockchain community.

The following Q&A has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

How do you view the current free-floating cryptocurrency market?

The market is volatile, which is to be expected. Cryptocurrencies have been closely associated with speculation for most of their development. But what excites us is that they are moving away from this. I don’t believe trading and speculation will completely disappear—that’s not the point—but rather, there’s an evolution from speculation toward infrastructure. Have we experienced periods of crypto speculation boom? Yes. Have we experienced periods of turbulence? Yes. These cycles have always existed. If some people exit, others will buy in—that’s natural.

What blockchain-related topics did you hear at Davos?

The content was mainly about infrastructure, and how blockchain technology and digital assets can solve real-world problems or enhance capital flow, store value, and improve access to financial systems and tools. That was the refreshing aspect of this year’s Davos forum. As regulations clear the way for institutional participation, the advantages of infrastructure become more apparent. This isn’t about speculation; it’s about how to leverage this technology to transfer billions or even trillions of dollars instantly, securely, and at low cost, and how to upgrade a financial system and infrastructure that has seen little change in nearly 75 years.

The consensus is that the entire ecosystem will benefit. Blockchain will help companies operating in financial infrastructure, markets, or services to grow their business and offer better services. For a long time, people have debated whether “blockchain technology will replace banks? Will it replace credit card networks? Will it replace this or that?” But that’s not the reality.

What’s truly refreshing is that discussions among ecosystem participants also focus on this. All banks, financial institutions, traditional exchanges, and card organizations are actively embracing this technology because they expect the cost of transferring funds to approach zero, while transfer speeds will significantly increase.

If we are to fundamentally reform the financial system, what should companies like Mastercard do? We have established partnerships—how can both sides achieve mutual benefits? How can our work benefit consumers and small businesses?

What is Mastercard’s core value? Is it trust? You’ve built a global trust network. I personally hold a Mastercard. When I swipe my card, merchants can be assured that the funds will arrive, with Mastercard providing support behind the scenes. In my view, trust will never disappear. I believe Mastercard’s involvement is not only about maintaining and strengthening trust but also about providing more advanced technology for transactions. You make transactions more convenient, more accessible, and eliminate barriers and middlemen. You are reducing friction, and over time, it may become more cost-effective.

Circle’s value lies in the widespread adoption of stablecoins and digital assets. We foresee a future where on-chain capital flows become more efficient. Of course, there’s still much work to be done in infrastructure, regulation, and compliance, and we haven’t reached that stage yet. When Mastercard truly begins to build on-chain business and leverages on-chain products to serve its customers, it will accelerate the adoption of digital assets.

What are the main current use cases for stablecoins?

There are three main scenarios. In terms of adoption, usage, and growth, the primary use case for stablecoins is trading and investing. If you’re involved in digital asset investing and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets, using USDC for investment is a very good choice because you can buy and sell these assets at any time and hold value in a stable currency like USDC.

The next two scenarios, though not as large as trading and investing, are rapidly developing, and we believe the next phase of growth and real-world application will come from these areas. One is payments—especially cross-border payments. Whether you’re an institution or an overseas expatriate, if you need to transfer funds from one country to another or want to easily move funds from one wallet to another, stablecoins are an excellent option. Transferring funds on the blockchain can eliminate intermediaries, reducing fees. Settlement times can be shortened from days or weeks to seconds or minutes. We see significant growth in capital flows across various industries. Even large institutions need to transfer funds from Singapore to New York, and now (they) can use stablecoins, no longer limited by bank hours. We believe the scope of payment applications will extend far beyond cross-border payments to cover all aspects of payments.

The third scenario is store of value, mainly in countries suffering from currency devaluation, such as Iran, or Venezuela and Argentina. In these countries, hyperinflation and loss of trust in the local currency lead people to hold US dollars as a hedge.

We believe that the functions of payments and store of value will accelerate this trend, causing the overall market cap of stablecoins to far surpass today’s levels.

When do you think stablecoins will be widely accepted by mainstream markets?

Some believe that stablecoins and the underlying technology will only achieve mainstream adoption when they become so integrated into the infrastructure that people don’t even realize they’re holding stablecoins. They think people will just think they’re holding dollars, and sending dollars. We often make an analogy: when you visit a website and see HTTP, most people don’t understand the technology behind it—they just know they’re sending an email. This kind of “mainstreaming” exists, and at that point, the underlying architecture of stablecoins will be fully simplified to on-chain distribution.

You are the founder of a sports social platform. You previously worked at the video software platform Brightcove. You also did custom clothing. How do these experiences help you in your current role?

Career paths are not linear. You benefit from luck and timing, but also from the expertise you accumulate, which helps you face future challenges. Looking back at my career, you’ll see it spans fashion, sports companies, video distribution, and cryptocurrency. But what runs through it all? Entrepreneurship, market expansion, business development, sales. I love creating. I am mission-driven. I enjoy solving problems that can truly impact many people.

So, when I joined Circle six years ago, I wasn’t the so-called “crypto-native expert.” I’m not a crypto specialist, but once you understand what this technology can do, you’re inspired by it and driven by its mission.

Related: Circle’s turning point: doubling stock price, on-chain transactions surpass USDT, precise positioning in Agent payments