Circle partners with Bahrain's INFINIOS to push USDC into the Middle East

Circle and INFINIOS team up on stablecoin infrastructure

@circle and Bahrain-based fintech @InfiniosCom have signed a strategic agreement to expand stablecoin infrastructure across the Middle East. Under the agreement, INFINIOS will integrate with Circle's financial infrastructure, including $USDC, $EURC, and API-enabled onchain payment capabilities for payouts and treasury operations. The collaboration is designed to help INFINIOS deliver faster, more secure, and more globally interoperable digital payment and treasury solutions for businesses and financial institutions.

Through its integration with Circle's infrastructure, INFINIOS aims to support institutional and enterprise use cases including cross-border payments, treasury and liquidity management, and merchant settlement. The deal effectively plugs Circle's dollar and euro tokens into INFINIOS's existing payment and card stack, creating a regulated onramp for stablecoin-based finance in the Gulf.

INFINIOS is the first in the region to operate stablecoin settlements and is one of the largest regional issuers and processors of Virtual Commercial Cards. Formed in 2014, INFINIOS is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain as an Ancillary Services Provider, Payment Services Provider, and Card Processor. The deal pairs one of crypto's most prominent stablecoin issuers with a regional payments specialist that already holds principal membership with Mastercard.

A deepening push into Gulf markets

The agreement is the latest move in Circle's broader regional strategy. The company incorporated an entity within the Abu Dhabi Global Market in late 2024, establishing a formal regulatory foothold. Circle previously formed a partnership with LuLu Financial Holdings to power USDC-based remittances in the region.

INFINIOS has also been building its stablecoin credentials ahead of this deal. In December 2025, INFINIOS partnered with Mastercard to adopt stablecoin settlement capabilities, specifically for $USDC and $EURC, focusing on enabling stablecoin-based funding and payments across the region. Bahrain itself has moved to create a clear legal framework for the asset class. The introduction of a licensing and regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers by the Central Bank of Bahrain signals a new era of legitimacy and regulatory clarity within the financial system, according to experts.

The Circle-INFINIOS tie-up reflects a broader race to wire Gulf payment infrastructure to stablecoin rails before the market matures. Tether has its own Middle Eastern ambitions, and local stablecoin projects are emerging as well. For Circle, securing a regulated, Mastercard-connected partner in Bahrain gives $USDC a meaningful distribution channel into a region that is moving quickly to embrace digital finance.

Sources:
INFINIOS and Circle Sign Strategic Agreement to Advance Digital Finance Infrastructure (MarketScreener / Circle official release)
Circle partners with INFINIOS to enhance digital finance infrastructure in Middle East (Crypto Briefing)
New era of legitimacy for stablecoins in Bahrain (Pinsent Masons)