<p>Circle has acquired payment services firm Elements as it looks to scale its own offerings.</p> <p>Jeremy Allaire's firm hopes to lower the barrier to entry for merchants looking to access the next generation of payments. The crypto payments firm and USDC issuer announced the acquisition at an event in San Francisco on Thursday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.</p> <p>"With Circle, we knew the natural synergy in our business models would create an opportunity to deliver a seamless and low-cost payments and settlement experience for merchants using a digital currency they can trust,” Elements founder and CEO Nafis Jamal said in a statement.</p> <p>Circle <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/173529/circle-introduces-bridging-protocol-focused-on-usdc-payments">launched</a> a cross-chain transfer protocol to support USDC interoperability on Wednesday in San Francisco.</p> <p>The firm also announced a strategic partnership with Robinhood this week, which includes an integration with USDC.</p><br /><span class="copyright"><p>© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</p> </span>