Crypto Mega Deal: Poloniex Exchange Acquired by Circle

Circle Internet Financial Limited, a cryptocurrency startup backed by Goldman Sachs, has announced that it has acquired Poloniex, one of the leading global cryptocurrency exchanges.

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Circle’s announcement is one to be noted, since it brings together two strong players in the blockchain space. The company has acknowledged its intention to build upon the success that Poloniex has achieved to this point.

According to Robert Hackett of Fortune Magazine, the total value of the deal is estimated at $400 million.

Rumors have swirled in recent weeks that Circle has been in talks to buy the cryptocurrency exchange @Poloniex. I can confirm here for the first time that, yes, Circle has completed the acquisition. (A source familiar with the terms told me the price tag came to roughly $400 M.)

— Robert Hackett (@rhhackett) February 26, 2018

Circle has been successful in various aspects of its operations until now. Its most successful venture is called Circle Trade, which provides cryptocurrency asset liquidity to institutional and individual investors alike.

According to Mr. Hackett, Circle Trade had produced over $60 million in revenues for the company, during a 3-moth period spanning from November 2017, through January of this year.

Until now Circle’s moneymaker has been Circle Trade, its “over the counter” cryptocurrency trading desk, which brought in more than $60M in revenue from early November through January, a source familiar with the company’s financials told me.

— Robert Hackett (@rhhackett) February 26, 2018

Acquisition Aftermath

While some Poloniex clients might wonder about the way this agreement will impact the Poloniex exchange, and in turn their use of the system, Circle has tentatively committed to generally maintaining much of the system’s functionality, which has been widely popular. “Many of the near-term changes you will experience will be behind the scenes, improving rather than dramatically or rashly altering what already works so well.”

Among the changes Circle plans to implement, are various improvements to the support and scale risk, compliance, and technical operations departments.

Moreover, Circle mentioned that it plans to intensify efforts for expansion, as well as increasing token listings. In today’s world of cryptocurrency exchanges, many investors have issues converting funds back to fiat currencies.

Circle aims to address some of the fiat currency connectivity obstacles that many exchanges have encountered. The company is also committed to maintaining and improving security measures that are already in place at the exchange, as the targeting of exchanges by hackers has been one of the lingering challenges for crypto enthusiasts and the industry as a whole.

Poloniex was hacked back in 2014, which saw Bitcoins stolen from investor holdings, and led to the halt of trading on the exchange. It is one of the prevalent concerns for crypto investors, who exercise caution when leaving their digital coins in a position, due to their vulnerability.