By
Steve Muchoki
April 18th, 2024
2018 was to say nothing a very productive year for a well-known crypto giant Circle. Its OTC business generated $24 billion in notional volume, and that’s not the only company’s achievement in 2018.
It’s not a secret that 2018 was a rather controversial and challenging year for the cryptocurrency world. Nevertheless, some companies can be really proud of their year results. And cryptocurrency finance firm Circle is definitely one of them.
In its official blog post, the company has shared its 2018 accomplishments.
General Growth in 2018
According to the statement, Circle has managed to show excellent growth rates. At the current moment, it works with 8 million customers living in more than 195 countries. In 2018, the company conducted over 200 million transactions worth roughly $75 billion.
Moreover, Circle started 2018 with two products and expanded to five by the end of December. Circle released its crypto investment app ‘Circle Invest’, acquired a digital token exchange Poloniex, issued its first stablecoin USDC, purchased a crowdfunding platform called SeedInvest – and it’s still not the full list of the company’s achievements for 2018.
OTC Trading
According to Circle, its OTC trading business, Circle Trade, is also expanding despite the difficulties that the entire industry faced in 2018.
Circle Trade managed to welcome a record number of institutional customers, expand its services across the US, Asia, and Europe as well as to introduce significant technical improvements.
As it has been revealed, in the previous year, Circle Trade executed over 10,000 OTC trades with 600 different counterparties. In total, the transactions across 36 digital assets generated a notional volume of $24 billion.
OTC trading provides investors with an opportunity to conduct trades directly with one another without a necessity to rely on intermediaries such as crypto exchanges. In general, OTC trading services in digital assets represent a special interest for institutional investors who are turning to Circle Trade’s services more and more often.
Acquisition of Poloniex
Poloniex acquisition which happened in early 2018 is one of the most important events for Circle. Circle took a decision to acquire one of the earliest crypto exchanges with a view to expand its activities and offer additional support for cryptocurrencies as well as to provide its customers with enhanced services.
In 2018, Poloniex experienced numerous upgrades including technical and regulatory changes. Moreover, a range of new digital assets was added to the platform. This list included EOS, BAT, SNT, KNC, LOOM, FOAM, MANA, BNT, and USDC. At the same time, 20 coins were excluded from Poloniex.
Acquisition of SeedInvest
Another strategic acquisition made by Circle in 2018 is purchasing SeedInvest. One of the reasons why Circle took a decision to acquire this crowdfunding platform is its desire to win a federal banking license.
The end goal of this initiative is to register with the SEC and to give traders a possibility to buy and sell tokens as securities for the first time which could become an important accomplishment for the entire crypto community.
2018 was a very productive year for Circle but the company believes that 2019 will bring even more results.