Circle Cuts 10% of Staff, Cites Restrictive Crypto Regulations

(Bloomberg) -- Circle Internet Financial Ltd., a closely held mobile-payments firm which acquired one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges last year, is eliminating 30 positions, or 10% of its workforce, citing an increasingly restrictive regulatory environment for digital assets.

“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 U.S.,” Jeremy Allaire, the startup’s co-founder and chief executive officer, wrote in a tweet.

The Boston-based firm has raised north of $200 million from the likes of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Accel Partners and General Catalyst and has a valuation of nearly $3 billion. It last raised capital about a year ago, and has recently tried to raise more funding, according to multiple media outlets.

Circle bought the digital exchange Poloniex Inc. last year for an undisclosed amount. At the time, the trading platform was ranked as the 14th largest by data tracker CoinMarketCap.com. The company is also is part of a consortium, which includes rival exchange Coinbase Inc, that is offering a digital token pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar known as USD Coin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, ;Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Randall Jensen

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