CCN: Cryptocurrency Tech Will Make Web Look like ‘Cute Experiment’: Circle CEO
Blockchain unicorn Circle has made a series of strategic moves that all have one theme: to become a dominant force in the world of cryptocurrency. The startup is backed by some of the most influential companies in the sector, and the CEO believes that tokenization is truly the future.
Boston-based Circle is not interested in just one aspect of cryptocurrency. This is evident when one considers the acquisitions that the company, which recently raised $110 million at a $3 billion valuation, has recently made. The company recently acquired the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, which many believe is part of a long-term plan to challenge Binance as the top cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
As the stablecoin sector heated up, Circle decided to throw their hat in the ring, launching the USDC stablecoin, pegged to the U.S. dollar. The project is structured as an ERC-20 token on the ethereum blockchain and launched with 30 partners, many of whom are respected and globally-known cryptocurrency companies, such as payment processing company BitPay.
The CEO, Jeremy Allaire, certainly seems to be excited about Circle’s future, and firmly believes that there will soon be a “tokenization of everything.” He elaborated on this theme in a recent interview with CNBC, stating his assertion that even assets such as traditional stocks will eventually be tokenized, allowing them to exist on the blockchain. He emphasized how important that this could be, and even stated that using cryptocurrency to tokenize real-world assets will “make the web look like a cute experiment, comparatively speaking.”
Many have pointed out that Circle is a cryptocurrency unicorn with immense potential, especially given the money behind the startup. Bitmain, the largest bitcoin mining company in the world, led their latest round of funding, for example. The fact that Goldman Sachs is also listed among the company’s investors has many in the cryptocurrency community confident that Circle might be one of the crucial companies to bridge the gap between institutional money and the cryptocurrency markets, as well. It’s also important to point out that the company can now make even more strategic moves given their new acquisitions. For example, the fact that Poloniex introduced USDC markets is a move that simultaneously benefits both the Poloniex exchange and the USDC stablecoin, both of which are backed by Circle.
Circle’s latest move was purchasing SeedInvest, an equity crowdfunding startup that has helped various businesses raise over $100 million. The CEO was open about the acquisition helping Circle’s eventual goal of complying with the SEC to offer security tokens. As a result of the deal, 30 employees from SeedInvest will be moving into Circle’s New York office.