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Circle

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[VERIFIED][src:etherscan][src:ofac][src:zachxbt][news][regulatory][stablecoin]

Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.

anchored·4xmBLj…KGUm

Summary

Circle Internet Group is the issuer of USDC, the second-largest USD-pegged stablecoin by market capitalization. Circle has faced sustained criticism from blockchain investigator ZachXBT and others for its policy of refusing to freeze USDC linked to hacks or scams without a formal court order or law enforcement mandate, which critics allege has allowed over $420 million in illicit funds to flow freely since 2022. The company went public on the NYSE in June 2025 under the ticker CRCL and received conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter in December 2025.

Connected Entities

14 entities · 60 linked investigations
Organizations
□Internet Computer52□Ethereum64□Drift□Tether□Binance□C&M Software□Solana□Circle□ZachXBT□Sui
Protocols
⌂Drift Protocol⌂Cetus Protocol
Tokens
♦USD Coin (USDC)71♦Bitcoin
Relationships
  • Ethereum→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Binance(60%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Sui(70%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→USD Coin (USDC)(75%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Solana(80%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Drift(90%)
  • Circle→mentioned with→Tether(70%)
  • + 33 more
Also appears in
Bilaxy·18Odin.Fun·22Local Traders·22Ethereum·64Odin.fun·10Lendf.me·30Levyathan·18Jump Trading·42StableMagnet·2Shibarium·28+ 50 more

Connected Through

14 shared actors · 571 investigations

Distinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.

Have evidence about Circle?

Timeline(20 events)

2013

Circle Internet Group founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

8 August 2022

Circle freezes USDC held in Tornado Cash wallets following U.S. Treasury OFAC sanctions designation.

10 March 2023

Silicon Valley Bank seized by FDIC. Circle discloses $3.3 billion in USDC reserves held at SVB. USDC depegs, trading as low as $0.86.

13 March 2023

USDC fully restores $1 peg after FDIC makes all SVB depositors whole, securing Circle's $3.3 billion.

11 January 2024

Circle confidentially submits draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC.

April 2025

Circle publicly files S-1 with the SEC to list on NYSE under ticker CRCL.

22 May 2025

Cetus Protocol on Sui blockchain exploited for $223 million. Approximately $61 million bridged to Ethereum via USDC; Circle allegedly blacklists wallets one month later after funds converted to Ether.

5 June 2025

Circle IPO completes on NYSE at $31 per share.

30 June 2025

Circle submits application to OCC to form First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A.

July 2025

GENIUS Act signed into law, establishing the first U.S. federal statutory framework for payment stablecoins.

12 December 2025

Circle receives conditional OCC approval for national trust bank charter alongside Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos.

25 January 2026

Swapnet exploit results in $16 million stolen, with $3 million USDC accessible for two days while freeze requests submitted by law enforcement and private investigators were allegedly denied by Circle.

25 February 2026

OCC publishes proposed GENIUS Act implementing rules covering reserve management, redemption protocols, and operational oversight for stablecoin issuers.

23 March 2026

Circle freezes USDC in 16 legitimate business wallets including DFINITY's ckETH Minter contract in connection with sealed NY civil case 26-cv-2327. ZachXBT calls it 'the most incompetent freeze' he has witnessed.

26 March 2026

Circle partially reverses the March 23 wallet freeze, unfreezing at least five of 16 wallets including DFINITY's ckETH Minter.

April 2026

Drift Protocol exploited for approximately $285 million. Attackers bridge $232 million USDC via Circle's CCTP over six hours during U.S. business hours. Circle takes no freeze action.

2 April 2026

ZachXBT publicly accuses Circle of being 'asleep' during the Drift hack and labels Circle, Jeremy Allaire, and USDC 'bad actors for the industry.'

13 April 2026

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire publicly states Circle will not freeze USDC without a court order or formal law enforcement directive.

14 April 2026

Class-action lawsuit filed against Circle in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts by Joshua McCollum on behalf of 100+ Drift hack victims, alleging negligence and aiding and abetting unlawful conversion of funds.

16 April 2026

Tether and Solana Foundation announce $150 million recovery plan for Drift Protocol hack victims. Drift Protocol subsequently transitions its core settlement layer from USDC to USDT.

Provenance & Audit Trail
Anchored on SolanaVerify on-chainsrc:etherscansrc:ofacsrc:zachxbt

Decision Log

This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (3 events).

full audit log →version history →

model: claude-sonnet

generated: 5/4/2026, 4:04:55 PM

last updated: 8/29/2026, 1:34:56 AM

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