Circle Inks Deals With Japan's Coincheck, Gaming Venture Overdare

Coincheck, a leading cryptocurrency trading service based in Tokyo, has announced a strategic partnership with Circle Internet Financial, the global fintech firm and issuer of the USDC stablecoin.

Launched in 2014, Coincheck has 1.91 million verified users as of the end of January 2024 and aims to foster the adoption of USDC in Japan by integrating the stablecoin into its suite of products and services, according to a press release on Tuesday.

Oki Matsumoto, managing director and chairman of Coincheck, and representative Executive officer and chairman of Monex Group, emphasized the potential for this collaboration to further develop the Japanese crypto markets and the broader blockchain ecosystem.

Circle's focus on Japan isn't new - the country previously signed an MOU with Japanese financial industry powerhouse SBI Holdings to promote digital currency innovation and advance Japan’s transition towards a Web3 economy by simplifying cross-border transactions, enhancing liquidity in the digital asset market, and introducing innovative financial products and services.

Overdare Partnership

The announcement comes on the heels of another partnership this week, with Overdare, a joint venture of metaverse and gaming industry titans Krafton. and Naver Z.

Circle said this collaboration aims to "redefine the mobile user-generated content (UGC) gaming experience" by allowing game content creators to integrate Circle’s user-controlled Programmable Wallets and receive USDC payouts for their creations.

"This collaboration leverages Circle’s commitment to the creator economy and our progressive move into the Web3 space," Circle said in an announcement Monday.

The global launch of the Overdare platform is slated for the second half of 2024, with more details and announcements to be shared on Overdare's YouTube page closer to the launch date.

USDC has a market capitalization of approximately $27 billion and over $24 billion in circulation, as reported in its December 2023 reserve attestation.