Circle Gateway Adds cirBTC and EURC With Separate Balances

Circle announced October 23 that its Gateway service now supports cirBTC, its wrapped Bitcoin token, and EURC, its euro stablecoin, alongside USDC. The expansion gives developers a common interface to manage balances across three assets, though network routes and operational limits vary.

Asset Routes and Balance Separation

Network footprints differ. Circle’s documentation shows cirBTC is supported on Arc and Ethereum, while EURC supports Arc, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, Solana, and World Chain. Circle noted that a token’s general availability on a blockchain does not automatically make that network a valid Gateway route.

Each asset retains a separate balance. Depositing EURC grants access to EURC across supported networks but does not fund cirBTC withdrawals or convert euros into dollars. Applications requiring an asset change must perform a separate exchange operation. This design lets businesses consolidate where balances are held without altering currency exposure or conversion logic.

Speed, Finality, and Nanopayments

Circle advertises cross-chain access speeds under 500 milliseconds, but only after a balance is established. This excludes the time for a fresh deposit to reach finality on its source network. Thus, spending an existing balance differs in timing from moving funds into Gateway for the first time.

Deposits sit in noncustodial GatewayWallet escrow contracts. Once authorized, the same asset can be minted on a supported destination chain. A withdrawal path exists that bypasses the API, though it carries a seven-day delay. Circle distinguishes between fund control and immediate access, noting the non-API path prioritizes different operational parameters.

The new assets integrate with Circle’s Nanopayments system for batch settlement. However, Nanopayments for assets other than USDC are limited to Ethereum Virtual Machine networks. EURC’s availability on Solana via Gateway does not imply support for EURC Nanopayments on that network. Developers must verify that the asset, destination network, and payment method form a supported combination.

Circle is waiving Gateway fees for cirBTC and EURC on the Arc network at launch. Developers are still advised to assess the full transaction path, including deposits, withdrawals, and settlement costs. Waiving gas charges for individual payments does not remove costs for batches or smart contract interactions.