Share this article
Crypto Startup Circle Cuts 30 Employees Citing Market, Regulatory Conditions
Circle is laying off roughly 30 people, CoinDesk has learned.
By Zack Seward
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 9:13 a.m. Published May 21, 2019, 6:55 p.m.
Crypto startup Circle has laid off roughly 30 people, or about 10 percent of its staff, CoinDesk has learned.
The company – which owns trading platform Poloniex, equity crowdfunding site SeedInvest and the USDC stablecoin in partnership with Coinbase – is looking to cut costs, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire told CoinDesk via a spokesperson.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
“We made these changes in response to new market conditions, most importantly, an increasingly restrictive regulatory climate in the United States," Allaire said. "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."
On Monday, Allaire wrote a blog post detailing how regulatory uncertainty forced Circle to geofence some assets on Poloniex from U.S. customers.
The cuts appear to primarily affect the company's Boston headquarters, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told CoinDesk. At the company's New York office, cuts were reportedly spread across the finance and product departments, the source said. Some unfilled positions were cut as well.
Last month, Circle's SeedInvest received a securities trading license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Earlier in April, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire made the case for cryptocurrency in a debate with the International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde.
Ian Allison and Brady Dale contributed reporting.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire speaks at Bitcoin2014, photo via CoinDesk archives
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin's bearish turn deepens as 75 out of top 100 coins trade below key averages; Nasdaq resilient
Crypto's bear grip squeezes tighter as 75 of top 100 coins trade below 50- and 200-day SMAs.
What to know:
- 75 of the top 100 coins trade below their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages.
- Major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, and solana are underperforming the key averages, denting risk sentiment.
- Only eight of the top 100 coins are considered oversold, indicating that most coins may still have room to fall further.
