Circle Partners With Apple to Enable NFC Payments in $USDC, Opens a $15.7T Market for Ethereum

• Blockchain payment services provider Circle hinted at the upcoming integration of its stablecoin $USDC into the iPhone's NFC system.
• The global NFC payments market is growing rapidly, presenting a multi-trillion dollar opportunity for $USDC and the Ethereum ecosystem.
• Increased transaction volume due to $USDC's integration could benefit Ethereum ($ETH) price.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire hinted at a potential partnership with Apple to enable tap-to-pay functionality with the $USDC stablecoin. This announcement follows Apple's recent decision to allow third-party developers to build upon iPhone's NFC technology.

Is NFC a Game-Changer for Crypto Payments?NFC, or near-field communication technology, allows devices to interact wirelessly when nearby for payments, data sharing, and ticketing. Nexus S was the first device to integrate NFC in 2011, and Apple followed suit in 2014 with the release of the iPhone 6.

On August 14, Alliare tweeted that the tap-to-pay with $USDC feature is coming soon to iPhones and encouraged wallet developers to start their engines.' This would allow iPhone users to pay in $USDC with a single tap and confirm the transaction with FaceID.

Tap to pay using USDC on iPhones incoming soon. Wallet devs, start your engines. https://t.co/D6lsj4saMS

- Jeremy Allaire - jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) August 14, 2024

Circle is not affiliated with Apple, but the recent NFC upgrade allows independent developers to integrate the technology into their apps.The $USDC stablecoin runs on Ethereum, so the feature could benefit the ecosystem by driving demand among the crypto-curious.

$USDC's Potential for Mass Adoption

The global NFC payments market was worth $25.8B in 2022 and could reach $507B by 2032. Meanwhile, the total value of contactless transactions now stands at $7.4T and is expected to reach $15.7T by 2029.

Circle's integration of $USDC NFC payments into the iPhone could open a multi-trillion dollar market for Ethereum. If $USDC captures just 2% of the contactless payment sector, it would add billions in annual transactions to the ecosystem.

High transaction volumes would subsequently increase $ETH's price due to its integral utility for gas fees.

Currently, $USDC ranks #6 by market capitalization, only outpaced by $BTC, $ETH, $USDT, $BNB, and $SOL. The integration could potentially help $USDC outperform $USDT and solidify $ETH's position as the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market.

Closing Remarks

The potential integration of $USDC into iPhone payments marks a significant milestone for crypto adoption. By allowing users to easily make contactless payments with a stablecoin, this partnership blurs the lines between fiat and blockchain payments.

References

• Jeremy Allaire (X)
• Near Field Communication (NFC) Definition (Investopedia)
• Contactless Payment Transactions to Hit $15.7 Trillion Globally by 2029 (Juniper Research)

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