Circle Plans To Relocate Headquarters To New York

Circle is doubling down on the United States despite recent concerns regarding the regulatory climate for crypto.

On Sept. 13, Allaire announced that Circle will relocate its global headquarters to New York City. Allaire said he hopes the new headquarters, which will be located in the One World Trade Center, will serve as a space facilitating convergence between web3 and traditional finance.

Circle’s headquarters have remained in Boston, Massachusetts since it was founded in October 2013. The company has since expanded its presence to 36 U.S. states and 14 countries.

“Today, New York City is home to an enormous number of crypto firms that are leading and innovating in nearly every area of this industry,” Allaire said. “As Circle becomes a more and more important company and infrastructure for this new internet financial system, it became clear that we needed to plant our flag, both literally and figuratively, in the heart of Wall Street, in the most important economic center of the world.”

Circle’s decision to launch new headquarters in the United States comes despite the company recently criticizing the nation’s lawmakers for cultivating a hostile regulatory environment for web3 and clamping down on financial institutions providing banking services to crypto firms.

“We are seeing concern about the regulatory environment in the US,” Allaire told Bloomberg Television last year. “We are seeing a huge amount of concern globally about the US banking system.”

Community reactions

The news attracted mixed reactions, with many local DeFi projects and CeFi industry luminaries welcoming Circle.

“The center of gravity for the old financial system and the new internet economy are here in the greatest city in the world,” said Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge.

However, not everyone was impressed.

“Doubling down on a country and city that hates your industry,” commented George Harrap, the co-founder of Step Finance.

ZachXBT, an on-chain researcher, accused Circle of cynically seeking to profit from web3.

“Not once have you ever blacklisted after a DeFi exploit / hack when there was ample time while you continue to profit off the transactions,” ZachXBT said. “So tired of your virtue signaling when you are the problem.”