Blockchain startup Circle announces acquisition of SeedInvest

Blockchain-based payments startup Circle has announced the acquisition of SeedInvest, an equity crowdfunding industry leader and an SEC and FINRA registered broker-dealer.

While the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, Circle said that it is part of its strategy to deliver a “token marketplace.” With this, SeedInvest will add 30 team members to Circle’s New York location.

“Circle’s vision is one of an open, global and connected digital economy built on crypto assets and blockchain infrastructure. A critical element of realizing this vision is building new ways for businesses, and ultimately individuals, to use crypto assets to more efficiently raise capital, manage investors and provide liquidity,” Circle co-founders Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire wrote in an online post.

“Furthermore, Circle aims to continue to raise the bar for the crypto industry by embracing securities regulation as it applies to crypto and paving the way for security tokens.”

Headquartered in New York, SeedInvest has helped several startups raise capital online and has built a rapidly growing network of over 200,000 investors. The company, with triple-digit annual revenue growth, has been ranked as the fourth fastest-growing financial services company in the U.S. by Inc. Magazine on its "Inc. 500 List."

The announcement follows the launch of Circle’s stablecoin “USDC”. Circle said that the acquisition will expand SeedInvest’s various end-to-end capabilities needed for executing regulated crowdfunding, such as due diligence, securities issuance, investor accreditation, payments and securities custody, to support crypto-denominated investments including using fiat stablecoins such as USDC, as well as issuing and offering tokenized securities.

“This acquisition will enable companies to efficiently raise capital through a regulated platform, tap into diversified retail investor portfolios through Circle Invest and provide investors with secondary market liquidity on Circle’s digital asset exchange,” they said.