Circle Acquires Elements to Drive Crypto Payments

Global FinTech Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC), has signed an acquisition deal for merchant and developer-first payments orchestration platform Elements for undisclosed terms.

The acquisition aligns with Circle’s plan to accelerate crypto payments, a roadmap it unveiled at the Converge22 technology conference it sponsored held Sept. 27–30 in San Francisco, according to a press release on Thursday (Sept. 29).

Plans include quickly scaling payment offerings to show the future value of crypto and make it easier for merchants to secure next-gen payments and financial services.

The new payment offerings make it simple for merchants to integrate their existing PSP relationships with Circle’s crypto payment offerings.

See also: Circle, Robinhood Partner to Simplify, Expand Use of USDC

“We are very impressed by the Elements team for their work in taking the complexity out of crypto payments. Lowering barriers of entry for payments and financial services and establishing dollar payments utility are core to Circle’s mission,” said Nikhil Chandhok, CPO at Circle.

“Providing well-designed payment products that can facilitate seamless, efficient, frictionless and delightful customer experiences are key to empowering merchants to take advantage of these next-gen payment solutions,” Chandhok added.

More than $49 billion USDC is in circulation as of Wednesday (Sept. 28), the company said, and it has powered more than $5 trillion in on-chain transactions since its 2018 inception. It’s a natural next step to develop a payments platform that enables merchants to accept USDC at the point of sale.

“Elements’ mission is to put more money into the hands of merchants. With Circle, we knew the natural synergy in our business models would create an opportunity to deliver a seamless and low-cost payments and settlement experience for merchants using a digital currency they can trust,” said Nafis Jamal, founder and CEO at Elements.