Circle Limits Stablecoin Creation for Retail Users, Following Tether’s Example

USDC is the second largest stablecoin offering

The company said it will phase out support for individual accounts to issue USDC, the second largest stablecoin in the market. Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), announced on Tuesday that it will stop providing service for retail users to create stablecoins.

The company said it will only accept qualified institutional clients, and not individual customers, as it "does not serve retail consumers directly". The company sent an email to an individual account holder with zero balance, informing them that they will lose the ability to wire funds and mint USDC on November 30.

The email was shared on social media platform X (Formerly Twitter), sparking speculation about a possible crackdown on accounts . Circle’s spokesperson said that the account closures do not apply to business or institutional Circle Mint accounts, and that retail users can still access USDC through brokerages, crypto exchanges and digital asset wallet services .

The move by Circle brings it closer to the practice of its main rival, Tether, which issues the largest stablecoin in the market, Tether (USDT). Tether has a minimum threshold of $100,000 for minting and redeeming USDT . USDC is the second largest stablecoin offering with a $25 billion supply, but it has lost significant market share this year. USDC’s market capitalization dropped by 43% year-to-date, while USDT reached a new record high of over $84 billion, according to CoinCarp.com.