Circle Sparks Backlash with DJ Khaled as USDC Ambassador
Circle, the company behind the $74 billion stablecoin USDC, has sparked controversy by featuring music producer DJ Khaled in its promotional campaign. A photo shared by Circle shows Khaled wearing the new USDC-sponsored Chelsea FC shirt, with CEO Jeremy Allaire welcoming him to the USDC team. This move raises eyebrows given Khaled's past legal troubles for undisclosed crypto promotions.
In 2018, Khaled settled with the SEC after failing to disclose payments he received for promoting the fraudulent Centra Tech ICO. He was paid $50,000 by Centra Tech to promote the project without revealing the financial relationship. The SEC's charges marked its first case involving ICO promotions, with Khaled agreeing to a $153,000 settlement and a two-year ban from promoting securities.
Circle's partnership with Khaled follows a series of missteps. The company recently launched its Arc blockchain, which was overshadowed by a memecoin based on Allaire's dog Duke. The DUKE token briefly reached a $2 million market cap before plummeting 96%. Circle has also faced criticism for its slow response to crypto hacks, particularly its reluctance to freeze USDC funds compared to rival Tether.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT claims to have identified $420 million in compliance failures across 15 incidents involving USDC. Despite this, Circle acted quickly to blacklist an address in the $350 million Bitget hack, beating Tether by seven hours. The company's recent choices, including the Khaled partnership, continue to draw mixed reactions from the crypto community.