Circle preps $1B war chest to deal with market threats from PayPal and others
Circle’s USDC stablecoin has dropped from $45 billion in circulation at the start of 2023 to just $26 billion as the summer winds down. Stablecoin issuer Circle has a $1 billion cash reserve pegged as insurance against a declining market capitalization and fresh competition from the traditional finance and technology industries, said CEO Jeremy Allaire. In an interview with Bloomberg, Allaire revealed the war chest and shared his views on the uptick in competition from organizations such as PayPal that are new to the stablecoin space: “I expect you will see many many, not just internet payments firms, but also all kinds of financial services companies and others begin to get more involved in this. It’s great to have this new competition. I do think it’s going to drive more and more companies into the field.” Related: PayPal launches PYUSD stablecoin for payment Circle is best known for its USDC (USDC) stablecoin, a digital token similar in design to regular cryptocurrency but backe...