Boston-based Cryptocurrency firm, Circle announced that it would be withdrawing its much-known payment app- Circle Pay so that it can focus on other businesses. The news comes in after the company’s announcement of laying off 10% of its staff because of regulatory issues.
The portal was meant to exchange digital currency as that of other apps like Venmo and Cash app. Circle Pay had witnessed considerable turmoil in the past when customers were not recognizing it. However, it struggled through position 121 among the most downloaded financial apps on the Play Store. Adding to the announcement, the company said that customers would no longer be able to transact online, following July 8. By July 31, any cash on the portal will be transferred back to the respective customer accounts.
As a signing off message, spokesperson Josh Hawkins said:
Circle Pay is a popular social payment app that has seen significant organic growth over the years across the U.S. and Europe. But now that we have USD Coin and an open, interoperable stablecoin standard through CENTRE, it makes sense to sunset our first-generation effort and transition full focus to wallet services that take a bigger step toward reaching our original vision for a free, open and transparent global payments network.
The company, however, suggested that it will be exploring business opportunities in more profitable products like the new wallet services. It is already dealing with over-the-counter trading desk; SeedIinvest, which is a security token platform; and Poloniex, which is an exchange.
About Circle and Circle Pay:
The circle was founded in 2013, with the aim of making cryptocurrency transactions easy. It started gaining public attention only in 2015 when it earned New York’s controversial BitLicense. The company opened a Bitcoin wallet in 2014, which would be the plinth of building Circle Pay. When fiat payments were integrated the first time, CEO Jeremy laid the base saying how the platform will convert fiat money into cryptocurrency, making it easier for non-believers to make payments to various portals or individuals using it.
In 2017, Circle reportedly made free withdrawals to debit cards from Circle Pay.
This has further left non-believers wondering if the future of cryptocurrency is in danger. While one part of the world like Switzerland is adopting cryptocurrency wallets in their day-to-day transactions, another part is silently withdrawing from the market, leaving users clueless and hundreds unemployed. Despite that, crypto enthusiasts are still hopeful.