The stablecoin issuer Circle recently announced that it would no longer be supporting its consumer Circle Mint accounts. This decision was confirmed by a spokesperson from the company, who stated that Circle is phasing out its support for these accounts. However, it’s important to note that this change does not affect business or institutional Circle Mint accounts. Later on, the official X (Twitter) account of Circle also confirmed this news via a tweet. The tweet clarified that it will keep supporting the minting and redeeming of USDC for business and institutional clients.

Circle Users Informed of Account Closures, Urged to Seek Alternatives for Stablecoin Minting

In an email sent to users on Tuesday, Circle notified those with zero balances that their accounts would be closed by November 30. As a result, individuals who want to mint Circle stablecoins, such as USDC and EURC, will have to look to alternative platforms for support.

Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, clarified that the decision doesn’t mark a new policy shift, as Circle has been operating as an institution-only platform for some time now. He emphasized the company’s partnerships with various retail partners worldwide, including Coinbase, which offers accessible retail access to USDC without fees and at a 1:1 ratio.

Despite this change, the company has assured its users to disregard any misinformation, conspiracy theories, or fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) surrounding the decision.

Tether Maintains Lead as Circle’s Support for Consumer Accounts Phases Out

Meanwhile, Circle’s competitor, Tether, continues to support individual consumer accounts, albeit with a minimum limit of $100,000. Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, explained that this threshold allows the Tether compliance team to focus on professional participants, ensuring a more thorough due diligence process for KYC/AML compliance compared to other stablecoin issuers.

Tether currently maintains its position as the largest stablecoin issuer in the market, with a total supply of approximately $91 billion for its USDT token. Circle follows closely behind, with a total supply of about $27 billion for USDC. Despite the changes, the stablecoin market remains vibrant and competitive, with users having options to explore different platforms for their stablecoin needs.