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Expanded USDC trading access across OKX
Circle said on September 2 that the companies are working together to give eligible OKX users more access to USDC-denominated trading markets, extending an existing relationship between the stablecoin issuer and the exchange. The latest collaboration covers spot trading as well as leveraged products through margin and futures markets. Circle described trusted dollar stablecoin liquidity as part of the trading infrastructure needed as digital asset markets scale.
Specific USDC trading pairs covered by the latest announcement were not disclosed. Circle did not provide a timetable for further market additions or identify the regions where every product would be available, with access subject to user eligibility. The announcement comes alongside a new OKX and Circle incentive program designed to encourage traders to hold and use USDC on the exchange.
USDC Margin Growth Program
OKX launched its USDC Margin Growth Program with Circle on September 1, offering qualifying users a monthly 100 USDC cash reward funded by Circle. Under the program, users must opt in, hold at least 20,000 USDC in their OKX Trading Account for 17 consecutive days during a calendar month, and record more than 1,000 USDC in single-side trading volume across eligible spot, futures, or margin USDC pairs. Up to 4,000 users can qualify each month on a first-come, first-served basis.
The trading push extends a relationship between the two companies that previously focused on moving funds between traditional dollars, USDC, and blockchain networks. In July 2025, Circle and OKX introduced zero-fee USDC conversions between USDC and the U.S. dollar. The arrangement allowed users to convert USD into USDC and back at a 1:1 rate through OKX. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said at the time that demand for USDC was coming from businesses and individuals adopting dollar-denominated digital money.
USDC infrastructure expands across OKX
The companies moved their cooperation further onchain in August when Circle brought native USDC and its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol to X Layer, the Ethereum-compatible layer 2 network developed by OKX. The integration gave developers and businesses access to USDC issued natively by Circle instead of relying only on tokens bridged from another blockchain. Circle's CCTP lets users move USDC between supported blockchains through a burn-and-mint process instead of locking tokens into conventional bridges.
At the time of the X Layer launch, native USDC was supported across 36 networks, while CCTP connected 26 blockchains. Qualified businesses could access USDC issuance and redemption on X Layer through Circle Mint. The infrastructure can be used for transfers, settlements, lending, and decentralized applications, extending the companies' cooperation beyond OKX's centralized exchange.
USDC in European markets and broader expansion
USDC access has been developing differently across OKX's regional operations as exchanges adjust their stablecoin offerings to local rules. In Europe, OKX opened a USDT-to-USDC conversion route in July for customers across 30 EU and European Economic Area countries. Eligible customers can deposit USDT and convert it into USDC, which is supported under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. OKX Europe operates under a MiCA license and restricts trading in USDT for European customers.
Circle has pursued similar arrangements with other trading and financial platforms. In May, Circle deepened its relationship with Hyperliquid by becoming the technical deployment partner for USDC on the decentralized trading platform. USDC continued serving as a primary collateral and quote asset across Hyperliquid's trading ecosystem. During its second-quarter earnings call in August, Circle said its USDC collaboration agreement with Coinbase had renewed on existing terms for another three years, extending the arrangement into 2029. USDC circulation stood at $73.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 19% from a year earlier.
