Launched in 2018 by crypto firm Circle, USDC is now the second-biggest stablecoin globally, with more than $30 billion worth of tokens in circulation.
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Cryptocurrency firm Circle said Monday it’s now registered as an electronic money institution, or EMI, in France, granting the firm a key license to become a compliant stablecoin issuer under the European Union’s tough crypto laws.
Circle, which is primarily known for its USD Coin, or USDC, stablecoin, said in a statement that it was granted an e-money license by France’s banking industry regulator, Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution, or ACPR.
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The license makes Circle the first global stablecoin issuer to achieve compliance with the European Union’s landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, regulatory framework, the company said.
Circle added that the approval will mean that both its USDC and Euro Coin, or EURC, tokens are now being issued in the EU in compliance with MiCA’s stablecoin regulatory obligations. The company said it is also opening up its Circle Mint, which allows businesses to mint and redeem Circle stablecoins, in France.
“Since our founding, Circle has sought to build durable, compliant, and well-regulated infrastructure for stablecoins,” Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, said in a statement Monday.
“Our adherence to MiCA, which represents one of the most comprehensive crypto regulatory regimes in the world, is a huge milestone in bringing digital currency into mainstream scale and acceptance,” Allaire added.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency pegged to traditional assets, typically government-issued currencies such as the U.S. dollar. Investors hold them to avoid volatility seen in other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
They’re also a key way to trade in and out of cryptocurrencies quickly that allows users to avoid having to rely on fiat currencies stored in bank accounts.
EU ushers in stablecoin rules
EU regulators last year passed the world’s first comprehensive law that governs how cryptocurrency companies should operate. The law outlines rules specifying ways companies should establish investor protections and make sure their platforms aren’t vulnerable to manipulation.
The law, known as MiCA, officially entered into force in May 2023.
However, provisions governing stablecoins were approved only last week. These measures were viewed as particularly stringent, as they imposed limitations on how much trading could be done in certain stablecoins, particularly U.S.-denominated ones.
Under the rules, companies must stop issuing non-euro-denominated stablecoins used as a “means of exchange” if they cross a threshold of more than 1 million transactions or a value of over 200 million euros (US$215.2 million) per day, according to Article 23 of MiCA.
As a France-registered EMI, Circle said it is now able to offer its services — which includes the ability to mint and redeem USDC via Circle Mint — to customers not just in France, but throughout the European Union.
That’s because according to MiCA, crypto businesses can offer their services in one EU country and “passport” them out into other markets within the bloc.
The remaining obligations set out under MiCA, which concern crypto asset service providers, will become applicable by December 30, 2024. After that point, crypto companies will have until July 2026 to become fully compliant with MiCA.
Launched in September 2018 by Circle and crypto exchange Coinbase, USDC is now the second-biggest stablecoin globally, with $32.4 billion worth of tokens in circulation, according to CoinGecko data. It is second only to Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin with $112.7 billion in circulation, according to CoinGecko.
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Google on Friday made the latest a splash in the AI talent wars, announcing an agreement to bring in Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of artificial intelligence coding startup Windsurf.
As part of the deal, Google will also hire other senior Windsurf research and development employees. Google is not investing in Windsurf, but the search giant will take a nonexclusive license to certain Windsurf technology, according to a person familiar with the matter. Windsurf remains free to license its technology to others.
“We’re excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf’s team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding,” a Google spokesperson wrote in an email. “We’re excited to continue bringing the benefits of Gemini to software developers everywhere.”
The deal between Google and Windsurf comes after the AI coding startup had been in talks with OpenAI for a $3 billion acquisition deal, CNBC reported in April. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move ratchets up the talent war in AI particularly among prominent companies. Meta has made lucrative job offers to several employees at OpenAI in recent weeks. Most notably, the Facebook parent added Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead its AI strategy as part of a $14.3 billion investment into his startup.
Douglas Chen, another Windsurf co-founder, will be among those joining Google in the deal, Jeff Wang, the startup’s new interim CEO and its head of business for the past two years, wrote in a post on X.
“Most of Windsurf’s world-class team will continue to build the Windsurf product with the goal of maximizing its impact in the enterprise,” Wang wrote.
Windsurf has become more popular this year as an option for so-called vibe coding, which is the process of using new age AI tools to write code. Developers and non-developers have embraced the concept, leading to more revenue for Windsurf and competitors, such as Cursor, which OpenAI also looked at buying. All the interest has led investors to assign higher valuations to the startups.
This isn’t the first time Google has hired select people out of a startup. It did the same with Character.AI last summer. Amazon and Microsoft have also absorbed AI talent in this fashion, with the Adept and Inflection deals, respectively.
Microsoft is pushing an agent mode in its Visual Studio Code editor for vibe coding. In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said AI is composing as much of 30% of his company’s code.
The Verge reported the Google-Windsurf deal earlier on Friday.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, holds a motherboard as he speaks during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, on June 11, 2025.
The sale, which totals 225,000 shares, comes as part of Huang’s previously adopted plan in March to unload up to 6 million shares of Nvidia through the end of the year. He sold his first batch of stock from the agreement in June, equaling about $15 million.
Last year, the tech executive sold about $700 million worth of shares as part of a prearranged plan. Nvidia stock climbed about 1% Friday.
Huang’s net worth has skyrocketed as investors bet on Nvidia’s AI dominance and graphics processing units powering large language models.
The 62-year-old’s wealth has grown by more than a quarter, or about $29 billion, since the start of 2025 alone, based on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. His net worth last stood at $143 billion in the index, putting him neck-and-neck with Berkshire Hathaway‘s Warren Buffett at $144 billion.
Shortly after the market opened Friday, Fortune‘s analysis of net worth had Huang ahead of Buffett, with the Nvidia CEO at $143.7 billion and the Oracle of Omaha at $142.1 billion.
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The company has also achieved its own notable milestones this year, as it prospers off the AI boom.
On Wednesday, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker became the first company to top a $4 trillion market capitalization, beating out both Microsoft and Apple. The chipmaker closed above that milestone Thursday as CNBC reported that the technology titan met with President Donald Trump.
Brooke Seawell, venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, sold about $24 million worth of Nvidia shares, according to an SEC filing. Seawell has been on the company’s board since 1997, according to the company.
Huang still holds more than 858 million shares of Nvidia, both directly and indirectly, in different partnerships and trusts.
Elon Musk meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Blair House in Washington DC, USA on February 13, 2025.
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Tesla will open a showroom in Mumbai, India next week, marking the U.S. electric carmakers first official foray into the country.
The one and a half hour launch event for the Tesla “Experience Center” will take place on July 15 at the Maker Maxity Mall in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, according to an event invitation seen by CNBC.
Along with the showroom display, which will feature the company’s cars, Tesla is also likely to officially launch direct sales to Indian customers.
The automaker has had its eye on India for a while and now appears to have stepped up efforts to launch locally.
In April, Tesla boss Elon Musk spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss collaboration in areas including technology and innovation. That same month, the EV-maker’s finance chief said the company has been “very careful” in trying to figure out when to enter the market.
Tesla has no manufacturing operations in India, even though the country’s government is likely keen for the company to establish a factory. Instead the cars sold in India will need to be imported from Tesla’s other manufacturing locations in places like Shanghai, China, and Berlin, Germany.
As Tesla begins sales in India, it will come up against challenges from long-time Chinese rival BYD, as well as local player Tata Motors.
One potential challenge for Tesla comes by way of India’s import duties on electric vehicles, which stand at around 70%. India has tried to entice investment in the country by offering companies a reduced duty of 15% if they commit to invest $500 million and set up manufacturing locally.
HD Kumaraswamy, India’s minister for heavy industries, told reporters in June that Tesla is “not interested” in manufacturing in the country, according to a Reuters report.
Tesla is looking to recruit roles in Mumbai, job listings posted on LinkedIn . These include advisors working in showrooms, security, vehicle operators to collect data for its Autopilot feature and service technicians.
There are also roles being advertised in the Indian capital of New Delhi, including for store managers. It’s unclear if Tesla is planning to launch a showroom in the city.