Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, has denied that it has received a Wells notice. That denial was recorded in a tweet by CSO Dante Disparte on Feb. 14.
Disparte wrote:
“Circle has not received a Wells notice.”
Unsubstantiated rumors emerged earlier today suggesting that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had sent a Wells notice to Circle. The serving of such a notice would mean that the regulator plans to begin enforcement against the company.
Those rumors were primarily spread by FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terret, whose account has since been removed from Twitter. Terret said:
I went with the word of several trusted sources on this. I apologize for the mistake.
Another Twitter account operating as AP_Abacus was also tagged in Terret’s original tweet. Though AP_Abacus previously suggested that Circle faced regulatory action from the SEC based on his own private sources, it is unclear whether Terret tagged AP_Abacus to cite him as a source or to provide further backing to his statements.
Circle’s denial does not necessarily mean that the SEC will not begin enforcement against the firm — but it seems to make that possibility less imminent.
The rumors appear to have been prompted by recent NYDFS action against Paxos, which forced the company to halt the issuance of its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. Paxos may also face action from the SEC as it has reportedly received a Wells notice.
Correction: Updated to reflect that the SEC has not yet taken action against Paxos.
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