Company: CRCL
Filing Date: 2025-08-12
Form Type: S-1
Source: 0001193125-25-178989
Chunk: 64

Company: Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-08-12
Form: S-1
Chunk 64
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 to investors for cash or securities held in their brokerage accounts in the event of insolvency of a broker-dealer or limited other circumstances. We do not consider USDC to be a “security” under the U.S. securities laws and do not believe that the SIPC would currently consider USDC to be cash or securities for these purposes. Accordingly, the protections afforded under the SIPA would not currently apply to Circle stablecoins. If an end-user holds Circle stablecoins with a broker-dealer, in the event of such brokerage firm’s liquidation, for example, the end-user’s unregistered Circle stablecoins held in the custody of the broker-dealer will be treated as a general claim as opposed to a claim that has priority over other creditors in a liquidation. Holders of Circle stablecoins would thus not be entitled to SIPC coverage for missing assets of a liquidated broker-dealer. Accordingly, the lack of SIPA protections and SIPC coverage could adversely affect our ability to retain and obtain new customers and end-users and expand our Circle stablecoin operations.

Our brand and reputation are integral to our business and competitive position.

Our brand and reputation are key assets and a competitive advantage. Maintaining, protecting, and enhancing our brand depends largely on the success of our marketing efforts, an ability to provide consistent, high-quality, and secure products, services, features, and support, and our ability to successfully secure, maintain, and defend our rights to use the “Circle,” “USDC,” and “EURC” marks and other trademarks important to our brand. We believe that the importance of our brand will increase as competition further intensifies. Our brand and reputation could be harmed if we fail to achieve these objectives.

We receive a high degree of media coverage in the digital assets ecosystem and around the world. Unfavorable publicity regarding, for example, our product changes, product quality, business partners, litigation or regulatory activity, privacy practices, terms of service, employment matters, the use of our products, services, or supported digital assets for illicit or objectionable ends, the actions of our customers and end-users, management practices, or the actions of other companies that provide similar services to ours, has in the past, and could in the future, adversely affect our reputation. Further, we have in the past, and may in the future, be the target of social media campaigns criticizing actual or perceived actions or inactions that are disfavored by our customers, end-users, employees, or society at large, which campaigns could materially impact