Stablecoin issuer Circle will shut out consumer or particular person accounts on November 30, in accordance to emails obtained by Circle prospects on October 31. In an e-mail to Cointelegraph, the stablecoin issuer confirmed that it’s closing the accounts but confirmed that business and institutional “Mint” accounts will remain accessible.
On the morning of October 31, crypto consumer Evanss6 posted a picture to X (previously Twitter) of an e-mail that Circle prospects allegedly obtained. The e-mail said that particular person accounts are being closed “as part of Circle’s strategic review.” The buyer was instructed that “wiring and minting functionalities” would now not be supported and that the account can be closed on November 30.
In an e-mail to Cointelegraph, a Circle consultant confirmed that the accounts are being shut down but that business and institutional accounts will remain open:
“Circle is phasing out support for legacy consumer accounts and has notified individual consumers of this decision. Account closures do not apply to business or institutional Circle Mint accounts.”
Related: Circle launches ‘points-to-crypto’ program with Taiwan convenience store chain
On X, some crypto customers speculated in regards to the motive for Circle’s resolution. Crypto sleuth Adam Cochran suggested that Circle’s reserves could also be getting drained by a “network of individual accounts” which might be working as “KYC mules” or money-laundering intermediaries, therefore the necessity to shut these accounts down.
Honestly my private wager is that the TUSD/USDT rotation into USDC that has been draining their reserves has come from a community of consumer accounts – which is why it will possibly’t be pinned down.
KYC mules is not precisely a brand new idea – so would not shock me if that is the strategic…
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) October 31, 2023
Crypto dealer tmnxeq offered a special speculation, suggesting that the accounts could also be shut down as a part of a “cost-cutting/ restructuring exercise.” In its assertion, Circle referred to particular person accounts as “legacy consumer accounts,” which appears to indicate that they had been now not getting used as a lot as they’d beforehand.
After publication, Circle confirmed that new particular person accounts haven’t been provided for a while. “We’re offboarding legacy particular person consumer accounts for a product that we have now not provided for a number of years,” the consultant said.
Update November 1, 1:47 pm UTC: This article has been up to date to embrace a further assertion from Circle.
