Circle Buys Crypto Exchange

Circle, the payments firm that operates an app-based peer-to-peer payments network based on blockchain and which has financial backing from Goldman Sachs, said Monday (Feb. 26) it acquired the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex.

Poloniex, as the companies said in the announcement, is among one of the larger global markets for tokens and digital currencies.

“We’re proud to announce that Circle has extended its commitment to a new vision for global finance by acquiring Poloniex, a leading token exchange platform,” Founders Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire wrote via blog on the company site.

As noted by Reuters, the acquisition — where financial terms were not disclosed — boosts Circle’s efforts within blockchain. In addition to running its network on the technology, it also remains one of the larger firms in the over-the-counter market tied to bitcoin trading.

In reference to the price tag, in a Twitter post, Fortune staff writer Robert Hackett said Circle paid about $400 million for Poloniex.

Circle also counts Baidu among its investors.

In the announcement, Circle said “now Poloniex addresses another key element of Circle’s product foundation: an open global token marketplace.”

As for future and immediate plans, Circle said in its blog post that “you can expect Circle to address customer support and scale risk, compliance and technical operations to bolster the existing product and platform. Poloniex achieved momentum and success with rocket ship velocity — a magnificent accomplishment, but one that also comes with whiplash.”

The company went on to state that “Circle is a global company with the skill and experience to help in these areas as an immediate priority … we also look forward to scaling Poloniex up and out through market expansion and localization, increasing token listings where possible and appropriate and exploring the fiat USD, EUR and GBP connectivity that Circle already brings to its compliant Pay, Trade and Invest products. More on these efforts to come.”