Circle Agrees to Buy Web 3 Infrastructure Platform Cybavo

Payments company Circle agreed to buy Cybavo, a digital asset infrastructure platform that focuses on custody and blockchain application development, for an undisclosed amount.

• Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin and aims to use the acquisition to increase the coin's adoption, according to a press release issued Friday. USDC is the second-biggest stablecoin, behind Tether, with a market cap of about $53.8 billion, according to CoinGecko.
• The acquisition will allow Circle to offer "infrastructure as a service" for companies looking to build on Web 3. That lets developers work on their products without needing to worry about digital asset security, operations and blockchain infrastructure management.
• "Cybavo co-founders Paul Fan and Tim Hsu have built an incredibly impressive product," Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in the statement. "They are unlocking value for developers and operators across nearly every major sector impacted by crypto and Web 3."
• Taiwan-based Cybavo was founded in 2018 and raised $4 million in a seed round led by venture capital firm 500 Startups in August last year.
• Circle will invest in research and development related to Cybavo as well as support its products and services.
• In April, Circle raised $400 million in a funding round that included investment from BlackRock (BLK) and Fidelity.