Circle to offer institutional-grade bridge to booming DeFi economy via DeFi API

By Pavithra R

Circle, a global financial technology firm that provides payments and treasury infrastructure for digital businesses, has announced that it will soon be releasing a product that will allow institutions to access new lending markets powered by decentralized finance (DeFi).

The past year has seen an explosion of interest in and usage of DeFi infrastructure, foreshadowing a deeper breakthrough in the delivery of capital markets and financial services. Dollar digital currencies such as USDC have seen tremendous growth.

To date, accessing and using DeFi protocols has been complex for institutions. Managing, securing and interacting with direct network participants is complicated and risky for most businesses, and the cost and regulatory complexity of running crypto finance infrastructure can be high.

Circle’s DeFi API simplifies what has been historically a complex, risky, and cumbersome process for many institutions. With the launch, businesses will have institutional-grade access to leading DeFi protocols, beginning with Compound Finance on the Ethereum blockchain, to take advantage of the explosive growth of DeFi in a way that is automated, secure, and facilitated by Circle’s trusted and insured accounts infrastructure.x

With Circle’s DeFi API, institutions will be able to:

• Automate flows of USD Coin (USDC) into DeFi markets
• Earn interest and governance tokens
• Manage it all with Circle’s trusted and insured account infrastructure

By utilizing the new DeFi API, businesses will have easy and quick access to DeFi protocols where they can earn interest, governance tokens and offer that same access to their customer platforms.

“The recent explosion in DeFi infrastructure foreshadows a deeper breakthrough in the delivery of capital markets and financial services. Offering the world’s first institutional-grade bridge to DeFi is another big step in our journey to provide businesses with a comprehensive suite of digital currency-native payments and treasury infrastructure. And we’re proud that we’ll be able to do it right out of the gate with Compound, one of the leading DeFi protocols on the Ethereum blockchain,” said Jeremy Allaire, CEO and Co-founder of Circle. 

With USDC, Circle Accounts, new Circle Yield offering and now DeFi API, Circle is providing businesses with a comprehensive suite of digital currency-native payments and treasury infrastructure.