Circle Lays off 30 Employees Amid Regulatory Concerns

Boston-headquartered crypto startup Circle has laid off 30 employees - 10 percent of its workforce - due to regulatory uncertainties, Coindesk reported on May 21.

Confirming this move, a spokesperson of the company told the publication: “We made these changes in response to new market conditions, most importantly, an increasingly restrictive regulatory climate in the United States.”

“Circle remains strong and healthy, and we will continue to drive new product innovation and growth globally, working with jurisdictions that offer forward-looking policies regulating digital asset businesses, while we press for more balanced crypto policy in the US.”

The report also specified that most of the cuts were made in the headquarters of the company, whereas at its New York office, the layoffs were reportedly spread across the finance and product departments. In addition, the Goldman Sachs-backed company also closed some unfilled positions without hiring any new staff.

Founded in 2013, Circle operates an over-the-counter (OTC) desk for crypto trades targeted towards the institutional investors. Over the years, the company has raised around $250 million and is heavily backed by Bitmain, IDG Global, and Goldman Sachs.

Last year, the fintech company acquired Poloniex, a US-based crypto Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term, in one of the largest deals in the crypto industry. Though neither parties disclosed the exact amount of the deal, some industry experts believe that it involved around $400 million. Moreover, to pave the way to become a Securities and Commission Exchange (SEC)-regulated broker-dealer, Circle recently acquired the investment Crowdfunding Crowdfunding Crowdfunding is defined as funding of a project via raising smaller denominations of money across a large body of number of people.New businesses that need access to more capital may also conduct crowdfunding. Generally, crowdfunding is performed through an online community, social media, or crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. Depending upon which jurisdiction an investor resides within will dictate the sort of restrictions that are applied to the crowdfunding pro Crowdfunding is defined as funding of a project via raising smaller denominations of money across a large body of number of people.New businesses that need access to more capital may also conduct crowdfunding. Generally, crowdfunding is performed through an online community, social media, or crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. Depending upon which jurisdiction an investor resides within will dictate the sort of restrictions that are applied to the crowdfunding pro Read this Term platform SeedInvest.

Increasing regulatory concerns

Amid regulatory concerns in the United States market, Circle-operated Poloniex recently limited the trading of 9 digital assets to non-US markets only.

Elaborating the move of “geo-fencing,” Jeremy Allaire, CEO of the crypto startup, wrote: “We are deeply frustrated that we needed to take these steps, but they are the direct result of the signaling from the recent guidance, in which US regulators are taking an extremely broad view of what crypto assets might be deemed securities.”