Circle’s move here is kind of interesting. They say it’s in coordination with law enforcement, but the detective has repeatedly nailed it—refusing to freeze it multiple times. The New York prosecutor even directly pointed out that the motive was to keep earning money from stolen assets. Will the compliance image of the stablecoin giant finally collapse?

According to a report by CoinWorld, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has been accused of refusing to assist victims of scams. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) said Circle failed to cooperate with law enforcement to help victims recover their funds, and that in a criminal case in Wisconsin it was accused of refusing to comply with arrest warrants requiring it to help recover stolen assets. Circle said the lawsuit should be dismissed and said there is no basis for the claims. Milwaukee County detective Scott Simons noted that he has witnessed multiple instances of Circle refusing to freeze victims’ funds. In a letter to Congress, a New York prosecutor also said Circle failed to comply with court orders, and the letter pointed out that its motivation for not assisting law enforcement was to continue profiting from stolen assets.