Circle Discontinues Support for Consumer Accounts
Circle, the issuer of stablecoins, has announced that it is discontinuing support for consumer Circle Mint accounts. This decision only applies to legacy consumer accounts and not to business or institutional Circle Mint accounts, according to a company spokesperson.
In an email sent to consumers with zero balances, Circle informed them that their accounts would be closed on November 30. As a result, users who want to mint Circle stablecoins like USDC and EURC will need to find alternative platforms.
Tether Maintains Support for Individual Accounts
Tether, a competitor of Circle, still supports individual consumer accounts. However, there is a minimum limit of $100,000 for these accounts. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino explained that this limit allows their compliance team to focus on professional participants and conduct more thorough due diligence on KYC/AML compared to other stablecoin issuers.
Tether Leads the Market in Stablecoin Supply
Tether remains the largest stablecoin issuer in the market with a total supply of approximately $91 billion for its USDT token. On the other hand, Circle has a total supply of around $27 billion for USDC, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard.
Hot Take: Circle Shifts Focus Away from Consumer Accounts
By discontinuing support for consumer Circle Mint accounts, Circle is redirecting its attention towards business and institutional users. This move may indicate a strategic decision to prioritize larger clients and strengthen its position in the stablecoin market. Meanwhile, Tether continues to cater to individual accounts, albeit with a high minimum limit. As the competition between stablecoin issuers intensifies, it will be interesting to see how these decisions impact market dynamics and user preferences.
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