Crypto Finance Firm Circle Puts Research Offering on Hold

Cryptocurrency finance startup Circle has stopped its line of research reports saying it needs to reconsider the offering.

In a post on its website on Tuesday, Circle reached out to consumers of the service, saying:

"While we’ve made significant progress with our content offerings, it’s time to evaluate our contribution and overall strategy. With that in mind, we’ve decided to pause Circle Research activity for the time being as we decide on a future direction for the program."

Circle Research had provided weekly and quarterly overviews of the crypto space, looking at markets, blockchain news and industry news.

The move may be a continuation of apparent cost-cutting moves by the firm which offers cryptocurrency payments via an app, OTC trading and spot trading via its Poloniex exchange platform (acquired in February of last year). It's also part of a consortium including Coinbase that has launched a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar called USD Coin (USDC).

Three months ago, Circle said it would wind down the Circle Pay app, with a closing date for the service of Sept. 30. At the time the firm's CEO, Jeremy Allaire said it makes sense to focus more on USDC and "wallet services that take a bigger step toward reaching our original vision for a free, open and transparent global payments network.”

And in May, 30 staff were let go – roughly 10 percent of its employees – with Circle citing market conditions and "an increasingly restrictive regulatory climate in the United States," as the reason.

Jeremy Allaire image via CoinDesk archives