If we genuinely want blockchain to usher in a better financial future, we must ensure stablecoins remain tools of openness, freedom, and choice.If we genuinely want blockchain to usher in a better financial future, we must ensure stablecoins remain tools of openness, freedom, and choice.

Circle’s stablecoin monopoly could be the next Visa, and that’s not a compliment | Opinion

5 min read

Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial.

Circle is rapidly cementing itself as the dominant force in the regulated stablecoin market, leveraging early regulatory alignment and powerful partnerships with payment titans such as Shopify, Mastercard, and Visa. To many observers, this signals mainstream success—evidence that crypto is finally gaining institutional legitimacy. 

Beneath the surface of this victory lies a troubling reality.

Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) is quietly positioning itself to disintermediate Visa and Mastercard, complete with all the network fees, restrictions, and monopolistic pitfalls that crypto was designed to escape.

Circle’s path to dominance

Stablecoins offer a critical alternative to traditional payments, enabling users, particularly those in emerging economies, to sidestep onerous exchange rates and transaction fees and preserve purchasing power against volatile national currencies. Circle’s increasingly dominant position risks undermining the very advantages stablecoins once promised, converting a decentralized dream into a centralized reality.

The pathway Circle has chosen is strategic and admirable in most respects. Early regulatory engagement in the United States and proactive compliance have enabled Circle to position USDC as the ‘trusted’ stablecoin among financial institutions, regulators, and mainstream consumers alike. 

It’s the stablecoin that banks can feel comfortable with, exchanges list confidently, and fintech apps eagerly integrate. Recent partnerships with global payment giants further deepen this entrenchment, embedding USDC into international payment networks and nurturing its dominance. USDC has become ubiquitous across DeFi platforms and is quickly leveraging partnerships to become just as prevalent in mainstream finance.

Do we need multiple stablecoins?

Stablecoins should offer five essential attributes: speed, affordability, ease of use, consumer safety, and scalability. They present a unique conundrum: on a fundamental level, stablecoins appear largely interchangeable—each holds identical value and similar basic functionality (though they are not fungible between different issuers). 

From a typical user’s perspective, having multiple stablecoins available might seem redundant, as market consolidation around a single fungible stablecoin can unlock economies of scale and reduce friction. Yet beneath the surface, stablecoins differ meaningfully in transaction fees, settlement times, ease of use, programmability, and accessibility. 

These differences underscore why some competition among stablecoin issuers is critical. Without competition driving providers to lower fees and optimize performance, a dominant issuer like Circle can dictate market terms to its advantage, ultimately leaving consumers with higher costs, slower transfers, and reduced choice.

Without robust incentives or competitive market forces, there’s little to ensure that more than one stablecoin issuer can remain viable. This lack of healthy competition creates the perfect conditions for monopolistic power, where a single entity like Circle gains the authority and leverage similar to credit card networks, capable of imposing unavoidable transaction fees across all stablecoin payment transactions.

While an endless buffet of stablecoins to choose from can create unintended friction for users, the alternative, a single dominant issuer that can impose practically any fees it wishes, will have far worse consequences for users. It’s essential that multiple high-quality stablecoins remain viable to prevent an unfair monopoly.

The danger of centralization and ubiquity

Centralizing control of stablecoin payment channels, Circle is setting the stage for a new era of unavoidable transaction fees—fees remarkably similar to those imposed by traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard. Merchants and consumers, once hopeful about crypto’s potential to disrupt fee-heavy traditional finance, may soon find themselves subject to similar tolls on stablecoin usage. 

In this emerging scenario, Circle—not governments or open blockchain protocols—dictates terms, conditions, and costs. The risk of rent-seeking behavior, extracting incremental revenue at every payment checkpoint, becomes increasingly real.

Visa and Mastercard currently dominate the global payment landscape, together collecting billions in network and interchange fees annually—fees that act as an invisible tax on global commerce. A stablecoin monopoly, particularly one held by a private issuer like Circle, creates a similar dynamic in the blockchain space. Users and merchants adopting USDC could eventually have little choice but to accept Circle’s conditions or be shut out of essential financial networks.

A restaurant can’t simply stop accepting Visa without damaging the customer experience and losing sales. USDC is quickly approaching that same level of ubiquity, and if alternative stablecoins disappear, any fees Circle imposes will become just as unavoidable.

A call for openness and competition

Proponents of Circle’s strategy often argue that regulatory compliance and mainstream integration are necessary for the mass adoption of stablecoins. To an extent, this is true. The crypto ecosystem needs legitimacy, trust, and clear legal frameworks to attract mainstream participation. However, compliance and legitimacy should never come at the expense of openness, decentralization, and choice. It’s possible—and preferable—to have both.

Ultimately, regulators, users, and crypto advocates must demand openness and competition. Regulators should promote policies that enable multiple stablecoin models to flourish, not just one. Merchants and users should embrace alternatives to dominant stablecoins like USDC, signaling to Circle and others that stablecoin adoption must not come at the cost of monopolistic pricing or restrictive terms. And the broader crypto community should advocate for protocols and standards that maintain open, interoperable, and decentralized stablecoin infrastructures.

While it’s tempting to cheer Circle’s rise as crypto’s long-awaited mainstream breakthrough, a future where stablecoins become yet another omnipresent tollbooth on digital commerce is hardly worth celebrating. If we genuinely want blockchain technology to usher in a better financial future, we must ensure stablecoins remain tools of openness, freedom, and choice, not just another unavoidable fee at the checkout.

Ron Tarter
Ron Tarter

Ron Tarter is the CEO of MNEE, a gasless, low-fee stablecoin designed to make digital dollars more accessible and usable worldwide.

Market Opportunity
FREEdom Coin Logo
FREEdom Coin Price(FREEDOM)
$0.00000001891
$0.00000001891$0.00000001891
-5.02%
USD
FREEdom Coin (FREEDOM) Live Price Chart
Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.

You May Also Like

Trading time: Tonight, the US GDP and the upcoming non-farm data will become the market focus. Institutions are bullish on BTC to $120,000 in the second quarter.

Trading time: Tonight, the US GDP and the upcoming non-farm data will become the market focus. Institutions are bullish on BTC to $120,000 in the second quarter.

Daily market key data review and trend analysis, produced by PANews.
Share
PANews2025/04/30 13:50
Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade Set for December 3 Mainnet Launch, Blob Capacity to Double

Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade Set for December 3 Mainnet Launch, Blob Capacity to Double

Ethereum developers confirmed the Fusaka upgrade will activate on mainnet on December 3, 2025, following a systematic testnet rollout beginning on October 1 on Holesky. The major hard fork will implement around 11-12 Ethereum Improvement Proposals targeting scalability, node efficiency, and data availability improvements without adding new user-facing features. According to Christine Kim, the upgrade introduces a phased blob capacity expansion through Blob Parameter Only forks occurring two weeks after Fusaka activation. Initially maintaining current blob limits of 6/9 target/max, the first BPO fork will increase capacity to 10/15 blobs one week later. A second BPO fork will further expand limits to 14/21 blobs, more than doubling total capacity within two weeks. Strategic Infrastructure Overhaul Fusaka prioritizes backend protocol improvements over user-facing features, focusing on making Ethereum faster and less resource-intensive. The upgrade includes PeerDAS implementation through EIP-7594, allowing validator nodes to verify data by sampling small pieces rather than downloading entire blobs. This reduces bandwidth and storage requirements while enhancing Layer 2 rollup scalability. The upgrade builds on recent gas limit increases from 30 million to 45 million gas, with ongoing discussions for further expansion. EIP-7935 proposes increasing limits to 150 million gas, potentially enabling significantly higher transaction throughput. These improvements complement broader scalability efforts, including EIP-9698, which suggests a 100x gas limit increase over two years to reach 2,000 transactions per second. Fusaka removes the previously planned EVM Object Format redesign to reduce complexity while maintaining focus on essential infrastructure improvements. The upgrade introduces bounded base fees for blob transactions via EIP-7918, creating more predictable transaction costs for data-heavy applications. Enhanced spam resistance and security improvements strengthen network resilience against scalability bottlenecks and attacks. Technical Implementation and Testing Timeline The Fusaka rollout follows a conservative four-phase approach across Ethereum testnets before mainnet deployment. Holesky upgrade occurs October 1, followed by Sepolia on October 14 and Hoodi on October 28. Each testnet will undergo the complete BPO fork sequence to validate the blob capacity expansion mechanism. BPO forks activate automatically based on predetermined epochs rather than requiring separate hard fork processes. On mainnet, the first BPO fork launches December 17, increasing blob capacity to 10/15 target/max. The second BPO fork activates January 7, 2026, reaching the final capacity of 14/21 blobs. This automated approach enables flexible blob scaling without requiring full network upgrades. Notably, node operators face release deadlines ranging from September 25 for Holesky to November 3 for mainnet preparation. The staggered timeline, according to the developers, allows comprehensive testing while giving infrastructure providers sufficient preparation time. Speculatively, the developers use this backward-compatible approach to ensure smooth transitions with minimal disruption to existing applications. PeerDAS implementation reduces node resource demands, potentially increasing network decentralization by lowering barriers for smaller operators. The technology enables more efficient data availability sampling, crucial for supporting growing Layer 2 rollup adoption. Overall, these improvements, combined with increased gas limits, will enable Ethereum to handle higher transaction volumes while maintaining security guarantees. Addressing Network Scalability Pressures The Fusaka upgrade addresses mounting pressure for Ethereum base layer improvements amid criticism of Layer 2 fragmentation strategies. Critics argue that reliance on rollups has created isolated chains with limited interoperability, complicating user experiences. The upgrade’s focus on infrastructure improvements aims to enhance base layer capacity while supporting continued Layer 2 growth. The recent validator queue controversy particularly highlights ongoing network scalability challenges. According to a Cryptonews report covered yesterday, currently, over 2M ETH sits in exit queues facing 43-day delays, while entry queues process in just 7 days.Ethereum Validator Queue (Source: ValidatorQueue) However, Vitalik Buterin defended these delays as essential for network security, comparing validator commitments to military service requiring “friction in quitting.” The upgrade coincides with growing institutional interest in Ethereum infrastructure, with VanEck predicting that Layer 2 networks could reach $1 trillion market capitalization within six years. Fusaka’s emphasis on data availability and node efficiency supports Ethereum’s evolution toward seamless cross-chain interoperability. The upgrade complements initiatives like the Open Intents Framework, where Coinbase Payments recently joined as a core contributor. The initiative, if successful, will address the $21B surge in cross-chain crime. These coordinated efforts aim to unify the fragmented multichain experience while maintaining Ethereum’s security and decentralization principles
Share
CryptoNews2025/09/19 16:37
VectorUSA Achieves Fortinet’s Engage Preferred Services Partner Designation

VectorUSA Achieves Fortinet’s Engage Preferred Services Partner Designation

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — VectorUSA, a trusted technology solutions provider, specializes in delivering integrated IT, security, and infrastructure
Share
AI Journal2026/02/05 00:02