Circle announced the acquisition of Interop Labs, the core developer behind the Axelar Network, while explicitly excluding the Axelar Network and AXL token.
AXL, the native cryptocurrency of the Axelar Network, has come under strong selling pressure, dropping 18% in the last 24 hours. This comes after the Circle Internet Group announced the acquisition of Interop Labs, the developer team behind Axelar Network, while abandoning the AXL token.
Circle Excluded Axelar Network and AXL Token from Recent Deal
The AXL price has been on a free fall, as the Axelar Network’s native token faces strong selling pressure, after stablecoin issuer Circle announced an agreement to acquire the team and proprietary intellectual property of Interop Labs.
However, the official announcement from Circle noted:
“The Axelar Network, Foundation and AXL token are not part of this acquisition and will continue to operate independently under community governance, with Common Prefix leading network development.”
As part of the acquisition, engineers and proprietary intellectual property from Interop Labs will move to Circle. Analysts noted that the transaction highlights a growing trend in which buyers prioritize engineering teams, intellectual property, and enterprise-grade infrastructure rather than the native tokens of open networks.
In this case, Circle gains interoperability expertise to support its broader stablecoin and payments strategy. On the other hand, AXL holders remain economically disconnected from the acquisition.
The AXL token is not set to receive buybacks, revenue sharing, or governance rights tied to the acquired assets. It has further raised questions whether the protocol-level success necessarily translates into token price appreciation.
Common Prefix Becomes the Next Big Contributor
Common Prefix, another long-standing contributor, is expected to take on an expanded role in maintaining and developing the Axelar ecosystem. The platform stated that it would announce more details on its future plans during Q1 2026.
In addition to working for Axelar, Common Prefix has played a significant role in the development of several prominent blockchain protocols, including Ripple’s XRP Ledger, Sui, Flashbots, Babylon, and Build on Bitcoin.
Common Prefix noted that they would focus on the institutional adoption of the Axelar Network. “We will make sure that supported connections bring value to the ecosystem, and the right incentives for validators. For institutional, we need increased economic security. We’ll enable co-staking of blue chip tokens beyond just AXL. Privacy, compliance, and robustness will also be a theme for the year,” they added.
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