Circle says it will charge fees if Poloniex US users don’t withdraw funds
Cryptocurrency finance firm Circle and cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex parted ways last month. Now Circle has said that if Poloniex’s U.S. customers don’t withdraw funds from its platform, they will be subject to fees.
These fees include a monthly service fee and a one-time dormancy fee once an account becomes dormant, Circle announced Monday, adding that unclaimed assets may be sent to state governments, per applicable regulations.
Poloniex U.S. customers, therefore, must withdraw their funds before Dec. 16. If they don’t, users will also lose direct access to their accounts and their funds will be traded and stored as USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin (an offering from Circle and Coinbase), per the announcement.
Circle acquired Poloniex for $400 million in February 2018, and recently spun out of it to develop a new cryptocurrency exchange, with a plan to spend over $100 million on it. The new exchange, dubbed Polo Digital Assets, will not serve U.S. customers, Circle said at the time.
The Block recently did a deep dive into Circle and found that things are looking somewhat precarious for the firm, given recent developments, including the Poloniex spin-off, closure of Circle Pay and its over-the-counter trading arm witnessing a flurry of exits. Circle has also paused its research arm, Circle Research. Nonetheless, the firm’s website, which appears to have been revamped in June, suggests it might soon break into new businesses, including custody and lending.
