Circle and Safe Partner to Cement USDC as DeFi’s Institutional Backbone

TLDR:

• Safe secures $60B in assets and will integrate USDC as its primary stablecoin for onchain institutions.
• The partnership positions Safe as the top institutional custody provider for USDC in self-custody and DeFi.
• Over $2.5B in USDC is already held in Safe smart accounts across Ethereum and other chains.
• Safe processed $1T in volume this year, with USDC now central to its growing institutional ecosystem.
  

Safe, one of the largest self-custody platforms on Ethereum, has entered a strategic partnership with Circle. The collaboration aims to make USDC the default stablecoin for institutional DeFi and treasury operations. 

The collaboration aligns Circle’s regulated stablecoin framework with Safe’s infrastructure, already securing around $60 billion in assets. The move aims to give large organizations, crypto-native funds, and DAOs a scalable, trusted setup to manage capital directly onchain. 

According to a press release from Circle, the integration strengthens both firms’ shared goal of advancing secure digital finance.

USDC Becomes Core to Safe’s Onchain Treasury Framework

The partnership places USDC at the heart of Safe’s ecosystem, where it already manages $2.5 billion in stablecoin holdings. The companies will build joint infrastructure to simplify onboarding and enable institutions to hold and transact in USDC with full control of their funds.

Circle stated that combining USDC’s regulated backing with Safe’s programmable smart accounts sets a new standard for institutional treasury management. By doing so, institutions gain direct access to DeFi liquidity while maintaining secure self-custody.

Safe’s co-founder Lukas Schor said the firm is positioning USDC as a central element of its product suite to meet rising demand for regulated assets in decentralized finance. The setup targets companies seeking compliance-grade infrastructure without giving up control over their crypto assets.

Safe already powers around 4% of all Ethereum transactions. The partnership builds on that foundation to attract larger financial players looking for scalable, programmable treasury tools.

Safe Strengthens Its Role in Institutional DeFi

The collaboration comes as Safe reports accelerating growth in its transaction metrics. 

According to Circle’s press release, Safe processed $1 trillion in total volume, with $189.6 billion handled in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Activity across Ethereum, Base, and Arbitrum has surged, showing strong institutional adoption.

Safe also launched Safe Labs earlier this year to expand enterprise-grade custody and integrate products like USDC deeper into its operations. This effort marks a push toward formalizing Safe’s position as a key infrastructure provider in DeFi’s evolving capital markets.

The collaboration builds on mutual trust and tested infrastructure. USDC has powered over $40 trillion in onchain transactions, and Safe continues to secure some of the largest institutional wallets in crypto. 

With this partnership, both companies aim to simplify how institutional money operates within decentralized systems while keeping compliance and transparency at the forefront.

According to Patrick Hansen, Circle’s Strategy Director, the partnership underscores a shift toward secure, regulated self-custody solutions for institutions moving on-chain.

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