Poloniex is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world and ranked in 18th spot in terms of trading volume based on rankings from CoinMarketCap.com. That is pretty impressive considering the fact that there are over 190 cryptocurrency exchanges in the world right now.
Circle, a digital payments company is reported to have paid $400 million to acquire Poloniex. The acquisition of the cryptocurrency exchange comes as a positive sign for the global cryptocurrency industry which has grown at an exponential pace during the last 15 months. CoinMarketCap estimated that the global cryptocurrency market stood at $20 billion at the start of 2017 and is now close to $500 billion, thanks to the massive interest in cryptocurrencies.
Jeremy Allaire, Circle co-founder and CEO stated that the cryptocurrency industry had awesome potential and expected huge value to be created by the industry. Allaire said that he expected the first $1 trillion dollar company to be established in the cryptocurrency sphere.
IDG Capital, an investment firm focused on the Chinese market and Goldman Sachs are investors in Circle. PitchBook has estimated that Circle’s market value is just over $420 million and this acquisition will further boost the company’s market value and global presence.
Cryptocurrency analysts believe that the Circle- Poloniex acquisition will push other cryptocurrency exchanges and companies to consolidate. Cryptocurrency companies who want to be a major force in the $500 billion market will have to proceed with mergers and acquisitions in order to expand quickly and consolidate their market share.
There is not a lot of information available as to who owns and runs Poloniex. Circle is yet to release an official statement and confirm the acquisition. However, Poloniex does support a number of digital currencies and the acquisition will help Circle become a bigger player in the global cryptocurrency industry.
There are reports that Circle has plans to create a new entity and become the first regulated crypto exchange in the United States. Nathaniel Popper who reports for the New York Times stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission will not follow up with any enforcement activity regarding the Circle- Poloniex acquisition.
In a statement, Ryan Selkis, founder of Messari Crypto said
“This is tremendous for the broader industry’s health. Circle is a terrific company that sets high standards around consumer protection and self-regulation, and the Poloniex acquisition will make a wide range of digital assets more safely accessible to the broader public.”