Circle Rejects Allegations of Unlawful Financing and Links to Justin Sun

Circle Denies Allegations of Illicit Financing and Ties to Tron Founder Justin Sun

USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin issuer Circle has denied claims of illicit financing and ties to Tron founder Justin Sun in an open letter posted to Circle’s blog on Nov. 30. The post was modified on Nov. 30, but Cointelegraph couldn’t determine the publication date of the letter itself. The letter, addressed to U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown and signed by Circle chief strategy officer and head of public policy Dante Disparte, addressed false claims made by a nonprofit watchdog group.

Disparte made it clear that Circle does not facilitate, directly or indirectly, any financing for Hamas or any other illicit actors, and that Circle does not bank or provide financial services to Sun. In addition, Disparte dismissed the allegation that Circle facilitated “major flows of funds to Hamas or Hezbollah”, claiming instead that these accusations are based on uncorroborated, unverified posts to social media. “Only $160 was transferred in USDC among [illicit wallets],” the letter stated, adding that “none of that was acquired from Circle.”

Circle’s open letter serves as a reminder of the importance of web 3.0 development services and the ethical considerations of how to make money from web 3.0. It is also a good example of how web 3.0 crypto list can be used to define the scope of web 3.0 and how it works. It is clear that web 3.0 is still in its early stages, but it is important to consider the implications of web 3.0 and its potential for social media web 3.0.

Circle and Sun’s Relationship

According to Disparte, Circle ceased providing services to Sun in February 2023. This action was likely in response to a letter from Campaign for Accountability, which accused Circle of having strong ties to the Tron Foundation and Wall Street investors, as well as alleging that Sun’s cross-chain protocol, SunSwap, was being used for money laundering.

The controversy surrounding cryptocurrency and its potential role in financing terrorism has been a major topic of discussion since the beginning of the Israeli-Hamas war in October. Initially, The Wall Street Journal reported that $130 million of crypto had been donated to terrorist organizations, but this was later revised to $12 million.