Two rival trading firms have sprung out of Circle Trade, which faces an uncertain future

And then there were two. 

Circle Trade was 2018's cryptocurrency powerhouse — handling over $24 billion in trading volumes last year.

2019 has been less of a growth story for the business unit, with this year seeing a flurry of departures, including its long-time lead Daniel Matuszewski, who resigned in August 2019. Indeed, two rival trading operations have sprung out of the business, according to sources. 

As reported Tuesday by CoinDesk, Matuszewski has teamed up with former rival Bobby Cho, who previously led Cumberland's OTC desk, to start a new trading operation, "The Dream Team," as one industry insider described the duo. CMS Holdings, which will trade its own capital, has raised $10 million to trade.

Circle Trade also saw its trading head in Hong Kong, Ryan Salame, and longtime trader in the UK Chris Hermida leave the company. Most recently junior OTC trader Jon Geenty left, bringing the number of employees trading at the desk to just two, according to a person familiar with the situation.

It's unclear what the exact game-plan is for Circle. It's a striking situation for the firm to be in, considering its 2018 trading powerhouse status. Insiders note that Circle took DRW's crown as the most prominent trading operation in the crypto world, but they say the firm did not act quickly enough to move away from voice- and Skype-based trading to fully electronic trading.

Still, sources say Circle Trade was never the focus of management. Indeed, the circular nature of market-making and trading makes it a difficult business to value and raise money on. Earlier this year, Circle was looking to raise another round of funding, although it is not clear if the Boston-based firm was able to do so. 

It is also not clear what will become of Circle Trade. Industry insider speculated that Allaire was looking to sell the business, but it doesn't look like that would be a possibility now. 

"Sigh," one person said. "At this rate Jeremy is not going to have a desk to sell."

A spokesperson for Circle did not respond to an inquiry about the future of the business. Circle doesn't have job advertisements on its website seeking new talent to fill the desk.