The iPhone will have a crypto-payments feature

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire announced the integration of Tap to Pay contactless payment functionality with USDC into the iPhone. 

In iOS 18.1, Apple opened up the ability for developers to offer contactless transactions from their own apps using an NFC chip and a special Secure Element (SE) hardware module. Previously, this option was only available through Apple Pay and Apple Wallet services. 

In a subsequent post, Allaire provided more clarity on the upcoming functionality. According to him, Circle has no agreements with Apple, the company will use the NFC that has become publicly available. This will allow cryptocurrency wallets to use the chip for transactions. 

Circle's CEO noted that developers of a USDC-enabled iOS wallet will be able to create a user interface whereby a receiving device like a merchant or another iPhone will receive transaction information with a tap.