Circle. Circle.
Circle Financial, a USD coin issuer, has been served with an "investigative Subpoena" by the SEC.
Circle was served with the subpoena in July after the stablecoin backer applied for a $4.5 million SPAC deal.
The SEC wants information about Circle's "holdings and customer programs" as well as its operations.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter 10 Things Before The Opening Bell.
As part of its increased scrutiny of crypto, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an "investigative Subpoena" for Circle Financial, a USD coin issuer.
Circle was served with the subpoena in July after the stablecoin backer requested a $4.5 million SPAC deal with Concord Acquisition Corp.
The regulator wants information about Circle's "holdings and customer programs" as well as its operations.
Circle stated to several outlets that it was cooperating in the investigation, but could not comment on details. CoinDesk reported the subpoena for the first time on Monday.
In the subpoena, it was not clear what Circle's interests were. However, the SEC could be interested in Circle Yield, a new interest-bearing product that the stablecoin issuer has just launched.
Recent crypto enforcement actions by the SEC have focused on the legal definitions of security. The agency's September back-and-forth against Coinbase over its Lend product led to the SEC threatening to sue Coinbase over unregistered securities offerings.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, complained that the agency's "sketchy enforcement approach" makes it difficult for crypto companies know what is permitted.
Circle has been dealing with the SEC for a while. In July Circle also stated that it had put aside $10 million to settle with the SEC over Poloniex. This crypto exchange was a former subsidiary of Circle. Circle claimed it wasn't part of the settlement agreement in August when Poloniex was finally settled by the SEC.
