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Circle moves towards further APAC expansion via MHC Digital partnership

Web3 & Enterprise·October 04, 2024, 1:01 AM

MHC Digital Group, an Australian digital assets management platform, has entered into a partnership with USDC stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial, with a view towards increasing the circulation of USDC within Australia and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

 

MHC was founded by well-known venture investor Mark Carnegie, with the company having offices in Sydney and Singapore. The firm will work with Circle to distribute USDC in Australia and within the APAC region.

 

MHC has been marketing its services towards institutional investors and it’s that same client group that the two firms want to target in order to increase USDC circulation. The firm will provide “cost-effective and efficient USDC access” where institutional clients are concerned.

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Crypto ‘a better mousetrap’ 

In a media release published on behalf of the two companies, Carnegie claimed that while many people still claim that there is no use case for crypto, hundreds of billions move globally at a fraction of the cost experienced via the traditional financial system. “Crypto is simply a better mouse trap for the vast majority of international payments,” he added.

 

Commenting on the development in an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Carnegie stated:

“I’m hoping we can show there are hundreds of millions of dollars of forex [foreign exchange] trading fees, where super funds are getting their faces ripped off by Macquarie Bank and the other incumbent banks.”

 

Appealing to pension funds 

Carnegie wants to get large pension funds on board in using USDC. He pointed to the fact that global banks make $170 billion from corporations and individual investors through the movement of funds over the SWIFT network. He can see that major savings can be made if USDC is used relative to these fees. Despite all this, Carnegie acknowledges that it will be a hard sell to get them on board.

 

As part of these plans, MHC Digital will be launching an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk, which will be targeted towards hedge funds, crypto enterprises and high-net-worth individuals.

 

APAC opportunity 

Kash Razzaghi, Circle’s chief business officer (CBO), identified APAC as presenting with an adoption opportunity beyond institutional clients. Razzaghi stated:

 

“With its young, mobile-first and digital wallet-ready population, the Asia Pacific region is ahead of the curve when it comes to digital asset adoption."

 

Carnegie appears to be similarly enthusiastic when it comes to the APAC region. In an interview with CNBC back in January, he suggested that the crypto bull run was “an Asian story this time round.” It’s understood that the two companies are also considering collaborating on the issuance and distribution of an Australian dollar (AUD) denominated stablecoin.

 

This development is the latest in a string of initiatives taken by Circle to bring about USDC adoption in the APAC region. In 2023 the company partnered with SBI Holdings with the objective of enhancing the circulation of USDC within the Japanese market. The very same rationale resulted in it partnering with Tokyo-based crypto trading platform Coincheck in February 2024. The company has also tried to trigger adoption at a retail level, through collaborations with FamilyMart convenience stores in Taiwan and Southeast Asian super app Grab.

 

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