Circle, a cryptocurrency payments firm that has recently announced that it is going public, has disclosed that it suffered an internet email fraud in which some $2 million in company-owned funds were stolen.
According to a SEC filing by Circle Internet Financial Limited and Subsidiaries (Circle), the incident occured in June 2021, and was caused by threat actors who launched a fraudulent internet email attack on the firm.
“In June 2021, the Company was subject to an internet email fraud incident in which fraudulent actors obtained $2 million in Company-owned funds. No customer accounts or funds were accessed or otherwise affected, nor were any of the Company’s information systems compromised in the incident.” Circle stated in the filing.
Circle’s recent announcement of its plans to go public comes after the announcement of support from Concord Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) that has some $275 million in trust. The announcement of Circle’s public listing has raised the firm’s current valuation at $4.5 billion.
The disclosure of a recent hack was not publicized but was provided in summary by the firm, as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission for the firm’s financial report for the period. Circle is known as the firm behind USD Coin, a stablecoin that has been driving the blockchain and cryptocurrency space’s decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
Circle is backed by major venture investors including Accel Partners, Bitmain, Blockchain Capital, Breyer Capital, CICC Alpha, China Everbright Bank, Digital Currency Group, General Catalyst, IDG Capital, and Pantera, with over $270 million signed for the firm’s development.
As Circle launches its DeFi API, initiatives built around bridging the stablecoin will potentially scale adoption of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance beyond the confines of its niche space and into the more traditional financial markets run by Wall Street institutions.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
