Crypto firm Circle hits pause on research

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Cryptocurrency investment company Circle has not had the best year. In May, the company was forced to downsize as profits plunged, and, two months later, it shut down its payment app. The company’s cryptocurrency research arm is the latest victim of the cost-cutting measures. Circle announced that it had decided to hit pause on research as it re-evaluates its strategy.

Circle’s research arm was introduced in October 2018 to provide crypto-specific market research. While launching the department, Circle stated that it aimed to “provide you with the right information so you don’t have to put in the hours of leg work of separating fact from fiction.”

The department has been producing a weekly crypto market recap, outlining some of the key events that have shaped the crypto market in any given week. It has also been publishing comprehensive quarterly reports which look at how the market has fared and where it’s headed.

However, this has come to an end.

“We want first and foremost to thank you for your interest and support for Circle Research over the past year. We’ve learned a tremendous amount from your feedback and from the impressive community of researchers in our industry,” Circle stated. “While we’ve made significant progress with our content offerings, it’s time to evaluate our contribution and overall strategy. With that in mind, we’ve decided to pause Circle Research activity for the time being as we decide on a future direction for the program.”

While 2019 hasn’t been its best year, Circle flourished in 2018, reporting to have handled $24 billion worth of crypto through its over-the-counter trading desk in 2018. Circle also revealed that it formed partnerships with over 1,000 institutional clients such as crypto exchanges, token projects, OTC desks and others in the course of the year.

However, this year has been different. The Boston-based company laid off 10% of its workforce in May, blaming the harsh market conditions. The CEO and founder Jeremy Allaire stated, “We made these changes in response to new market conditions, most importantly, an increasingly restrictive regulatory climate in the United States.”