Another round of lay-offs sweep Circle following announcement of cofounder's exit

Quick Take

Circle this week laid off ten people, according to a source
The layoffs following the announcement that their cofounder Sean Neville would step down at the end of the year

Circle, one of the earliest players in the digital asset market, laid off 10 employees this week, following the announcement that its cofounder Sean Neville would step down at the end of December.

It's the latest development for the firm, which has had a rocky 2019. In addition to layoffs announced earlier this year, the firm saw an exodus of talent from its once mighty over-the-counter trading operation. Earlier this year, it spun-out Poloniex, the cryptocurrency exchange it acquired for $400 million in 2018. Indeed, Neville attributed the sale of Poloniex to his decision to leave the firm.

As for the layoffs, a source familiar with the situation said they spanned different units at the company.

Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Neville, Circle got its start as a platform that allowed users to store and send bitcoin. In 2015, Goldman Sachs led a $50 million investment in the company. At its peak it was valued as high as $3 billion dollars.

Going into 2020, Circle's strategy remains unclear. Sources say the firm will lean into SeedInvest, the tokenization startup it acquired in March 2019. In August, the firm was seeking a partner that would raise $100 million for a venture fund that would tap into SeedInvest's deal flow. The company is no longer accepting applications for the position, according to LinkedIn. Sources say the position wasn't filled.

At its peak, Circle employed over 300 people. In March, the firm laid off 30 employees, blaming the regulatory climate in the U.S.

There has been at least one bright spot, however. The firm's stablecoin USDC has seen its supply more than double over the course of the last year from approximately $260 million in January to over $480 million at last check. Since late October its supply grew by approximately 81%.

Still, sources question whether profits from USDC are enough to sustain the entire business while SeedInvest is built out.

"As we continue to focus on advancing our stablecoin business strategy, we’ve streamlined some departments, which resulted in the elimination of about 10 roles at the company," a spokesman said in an email.

This post has been updated to clarify Circle's headcount.