CryptoWorld news: Circle announced an increase of $2 billion in its USDC supply. At the same time, Nium and Circle have reached a partnership agreement to connect USDC-based settlement with local-currency payments, serving institutions involved in cross-border fund transfers. Nium has become a global payments partner of Circle’s payment network, enabling financial institutions to access Nium’s payment infrastructure across more than 190 countries and 100 currencies. The partnership includes foreign-exchange optimization and smart routing, reducing the need for businesses to manage multiple local payment providers. Circle’s network provides compliant USDC payment settlement for institutional users, while Nium handles local-currency delivery for the last mile. This collaboration aims to address the longstanding problem in cross-border payments of balancing fast settlement with reliable local delivery.