We are pleased to announce that RebelFi has been selected as a Circle Developer Grant recipient.
Circle's Developer Grant program supports projects building features and functionality on USDC. Grants are awarded to teams demonstrating strong progress, clear traction potential, and meaningful alignment with the Circle Developer Platform. RebelFi was recognized for all three.
This is a meaningful milestone. It validates the category we are building: programmable stablecoin operations infrastructure for businesses running real money flows.
What This Means for RebelFi
The grant accelerates our core product: an API that enables fintechs, neobanks, payment processors, and OTC desks to generate yield on operational stablecoin balances without giving up custody.
Today, billions of dollars in USDC sit idle inside business wallets, waiting for settlement windows, payroll runs, or withdrawal requests. That idle capital represents lost revenue. RebelFi turns it into a yield-generating asset, automatically and programmatically, while maintaining the liquidity businesses need for daily operations.
With Circle's backing, we are deepening our integration across their developer platform:
USDC as the core settlement asset across all yield strategies, backed by $79.2 billion in circulation and growing 108% year-over-year
Circle's Programmable Wallets for non-custodial transaction signing across 32 supported blockchains
Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) for seamless native USDC movement between chains without bridging risk
Circle Gateway for unified USDC balance abstraction across EVM chains and Solana
Arc, Circle's purpose-built Layer-1 for stablecoin finance, as it moves toward mainnet in 2026
Why Circle
Circle is not just the issuer of USDC. They are building the infrastructure layer for the internet financial system. USDC is the most licensed stablecoin, live on 32 blockchains with reserves held by Bank of New York Mellon and managed by BlackRock through the SEC-registered Circle Reserve Fund.
The institutional credibility is real. Circle's partnerships span Visa (expanded USDC settlement on Solana), Intuit (USDC in TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Credit Karma), Nubank in Brazil, and a landmark deal with Bermuda to build the world's first fully onchain national economy. In April 2025, the SEC designated USDC as a "Covered Stablecoin," confirming it is not a security.
For RebelFi, this matters because our clients are not crypto-native traders. They are fintech operators, treasury managers, and compliance officers at companies processing real payments. They need infrastructure backed by a regulated, transparent issuer with over $70 trillion in all-time transaction volume. USDC and Circle provide that foundation.
The Developer Grant program specifically supports builders who are:
Leveraging Circle products like CCTP, Programmable Wallets, and Gas Station
Solving real-world problems for real businesses
Shipping product, not whitepapers
We fit that criteria.
What We Are Building
RebelFi provides stablecoin operations infrastructure. The core product is an API that sits between a business's existing wallet infrastructure and audited DeFi yield protocols. Here is what that looks like in practice:
Yield on operational float: A payment processor holding $2M in USDC for settlement can generate 4-8% APY on those balances during idle windows
Non-custodial architecture: Users sign transactions directly through Circle's Programmable Wallets. RebelFi never takes custody of funds
Risk-managed strategies: Automated exposure monitoring with configurable drawdown limits, connected to well-audited protocols like Aave and Compound
Compliance-ready: Sharia-compliant yield options, ring-fenced capital flows, and full audit trails
Multi-chain: Yield optimization across Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Arbitrum via CCTP, with Circle Gateway abstracting chain complexity
Our clients are already in various stages of integration. From a Brazilian fintech completing SDK integration to a UAE digital bank exploring Sharia-compliant yield, and from a Ghanaian neobank piloting treasury yield to a payroll company converting $2M monthly in USD to USDC.
Arc and the Future of Stablecoin Finance
One of the most compelling aspects of this grant is its alignment with Circle Arc, the purpose-built Layer-1 blockchain for stablecoin-native applications announced in August 2025.
Arc is not another general-purpose chain. It is designed from the ground up for stablecoin finance:
USDC as native gas eliminates the need for volatile crypto tokens. Businesses pay dollar-denominated, predictable fees
Sub-second deterministic finality via Malachite consensus, built by the Informal Systems team that joined Circle
EVM-compatible for familiar developer tooling and composability
Built-in institutional FX engine with 24/7 peer-to-peer onchain currency settlement
Native support for USDC, EURC, and USYC (Circle's yield-bearing tokenized money market fund)
With mainnet beta targeted for 2026, Arc represents exactly the kind of infrastructure RebelFi is built for. A chain where stablecoins are first-class citizens, compliance is native, and yield generation is a core primitive rather than an afterthought.
We are positioning RebelFi to be among the first yield infrastructure providers on Arc.
What Comes Next
The grant enables us to accelerate on three fronts:
1. Deeper Circle Platform Integration
We are expanding our use of Circle's developer tools. Programmable Wallets simplify the non-custodial signing flow for our clients. CCTP enables yield optimization across chains without bridging risk. Gas Station lets us sponsor transaction fees for end users. As Arc approaches mainnet, we are building to be ready on day one.
2. Expanded Yield Strategies
The capital from this grant directly funds the development of new yield vaults and strategy types. We are building tiered risk profiles, from conservative 4-6% APY options backed by lending protocols to managed 10-12% APY strategies for operators with higher risk appetite.
3. Market Expansion
Our pipeline spans Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. These are markets where stablecoin adoption is not theoretical. In Nigeria alone, stablecoins account for over 95% of crypto transaction volume. Payment companies in these regions hold significant USDC balances that generate zero return. We change that.
The Bigger Picture
Stablecoins have crossed $200 billion in total market capitalization. USDC alone has processed over $70 trillion in all-time onchain transaction volume and grew 108% year-over-year. Regulatory frameworks like the GENIUS Act in the US and MiCA in Europe are creating the compliance clarity that institutional adopters need.
Circle itself is preparing for its next chapter. With partnerships spanning governments (Bermuda), banks (SBI Holdings), and consumer platforms (Intuit, Grab), the trajectory is clear: USDC is becoming core financial infrastructure, not a crypto experiment.
The opportunity for builders is equally clear. Every business that holds stablecoins for operational purposes is leaving money on the table. The infrastructure to fix that is what RebelFi provides, and what Circle is now supporting through this grant.
FAQ
What is the Circle Developer Grant?
Circle's Developer Grant program awards $5,000 to $100,000 in USDC to early-stage projects building features and functionality on USDC and the Circle Developer Platform. Recipients receive funding, technical support, co-marketing, and potential referral to Circle Ventures.
What does RebelFi do?
RebelFi provides stablecoin operations infrastructure. Our API enables fintechs, neobanks, and payment processors to generate yield on idle USDC balances without giving up custody of funds. We connect businesses to audited DeFi protocols through a programmable, compliance-ready interface.
How does yield generation work on operational stablecoins?
Businesses holding USDC for settlements, payroll, or reserves can allocate idle balances to yield strategies via our API. The funds remain non-custodial, meaning the business retains full control and signing authority. Returns are generated through DeFi lending and liquidity protocols, with configurable risk parameters.
What is Circle Arc?
Arc is Circle's purpose-built Layer-1 blockchain for stablecoin-native applications, announced August 2025 with mainnet beta targeted for 2026. It features USDC as native gas, sub-second deterministic finality, EVM compatibility, a built-in institutional FX engine, and native support for USDC, EURC, and USYC. RebelFi is building to integrate with Arc as it reaches mainnet.
What regions does RebelFi serve?
We work with clients across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the US. Our infrastructure is chain-agnostic and region-agnostic, though we see particularly strong demand in markets with high stablecoin adoption like Nigeria, Brazil, Pakistan, and the UAE.
How big is the USDC market?
As of early 2026, USDC has $79.2 billion in circulation across 32 blockchains, with over $70 trillion in all-time transaction volume. It grew 108% year-over-year and is backed by reserves held at Bank of New York Mellon and managed by BlackRock.
Key Takeaways
RebelFi has been selected as a Circle Developer Grant recipient
The grant supports development of programmable yield infrastructure on USDC
We are deepening integration with Circle's Programmable Wallets, CCTP, Gateway, and Arc
Our API enables businesses to earn 4-12% APY on idle stablecoin balances without custody risk
Circle Arc, the stablecoin-native Layer-1, is a natural fit for RebelFi's infrastructure as it approaches mainnet
USDC: $79.2B circulation, $70T+ all-time volume, 32 chains, 108% YoY growth
Active client pipeline across Africa, LATAM, Middle East, and Southeast Asia
*Written by the RebelFi team. Learn more about our approach at rebelfi.io or reach out to discuss your operational flows.*
