Mobile payment app company, Circle has revealed on Monday that it has acquired Poloniex Inc, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange. With financial backing from Goldman Sachs, Circle will buy Poloniex to position itself as a leader in the cryptocurrency exchange business.
Circle, based in Boston, reportedly purchased Poloniex for the sum of $400 million in a deal that would see the company competing with the likes of Coinbase and Bittrex. According to coinmarketcap, Poloniex was the 14th largest cryptocurrency exchange by 24-hour trading volume at the time of the acquisition.
After it ditched its Circle Pay bitcoin wallet service in December 2016, Circle currently operates three business portfolios; Circle Pay, a mobile app for sending and receiving fiat currency; Circle Trade which provides liquidity in cryptocurrencies and Circle Invest for people who want to invest in cryptocurrency assets.
Poloniex, launched in 2014, was founded by Tristan D’Agosta who also serves as the CEO. The Poloniex team released a blog announcing the merger. It reads:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“In working closely with the Circle team to formalize our union, we have found a shared vision for a future in which decentralized cryptocurrency protocols create a far more open, inclusive and evenly distributed global economy.”[/perfectpullquote]
Considering that Poloniex has no trading pairs with fiat currency, Circle may try to connect Poloniex with the fiat world like its Circle Pay, Trade and Invest. Founders Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire mentioned this in a similar blog release:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We also look forward to scaling Poloniex up and out through market expansion and localization, increasing token listings where possible and appropriate, and exploring the fiat USD, EUR, and GBP connectivity that Circle already brings to its compliant Pay, Trade, and Invest products.”[/perfectpullquote]
Both Circle and Poloniex teams assured users of a smooth transition.
Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.
