USDC Circle, the stablecoin issuer, has denied the claims made by a Fox Business journalist that it had received an official warning from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding possible enforcement action against it.
The journalist had alleged that the SEC was cracking down on stablecoin issuers and had sent Wells notices to several stablecoin issuers, including Circle, ordering them to stop selling unregistered securities. This caused concern among the cryptocurrency community, with some selling their USDC reserves in anticipation of a ban on issuing stablecoins, similar to what happened to Paxos. However, Circle’s management quickly responded, with Dante Disparte, the director of strategy and head of global policy at Circle Pay, stating that his company had not received any notice from the regulator, and the Fox Business reporter’s news was untrue.
The journalist later admitted her mistake, apologized on Twitter, deleted the post and wrote a retraction.
Most members of the crypto community were not surprised by the confusion, as recent events such as the staking ban for Kraken and the ban on BUSD stablecoins for Paxos had created a market environment for negative expectations and rumors.