Company: CRCL
Filing Date: 2025-06-02
Form Type: S-1/A
Source: 0001193125-25-132755
Chunk: 52

Company: Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-06-02
Form: S-1/A
Chunk 52
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udulent misuse of such blockchains involving Circle stablecoins or otherwise adversely affect the stablecoins whose protocols are built on top of such blockchains. Failures in one or more public blockchains could result in sustained periods where
end-users cannot access or transfer their Circle stablecoins, which could result in Circle stablecoins losing their reputation as a safe and reliable payment technology. Furthermore, we have in the past experienced and may in the future encounter
periods of extreme and persistent minting activities, which may result in operational delays in accepting fiat currencies, including due to capacity constraints or otherwise, at the banking institutions where our reserves are currently held. Such
delays in processing users’ minting requests could negatively impact our ability to attract market entrants and may cause demand to shift toward our competitors.

Moreover, the governance of many decentralized blockchain networks is by voluntary consensus and open competition, and many developers are not directly compensated for
their contributions. As a result, there may be a lack of consensus or clarity on the governance of any particular blockchain network, a lack of incentives for developers to maintain or develop the network, and other unforeseen issues, any of which
could result in unexpected or undesirable errors, bugs, or changes, or otherwise stymie such network’s utility and ability to respond to challenges and grow.

Any negative publicity regarding stablecoins or the broader digital asset industry may have an outsized negative effect on consumer confidence.

As is the case with other novel technology, compared to more established and well-known industries, any negative publicity regarding blockchain technology and digital
assets companies could have an outsized negative effect on confidence in blockchain technology in general and Circle stablecoins in particular. For example, since the inception of blockchain technology, there have been incidents of smart contract
developers acting maliciously and misappropriating funds, and numerous digital asset businesses and platforms have been sued, investigated, or shut down due to fraud, illegal activities, the sale or issuance of unregistered securities, manipulative
practices, business failure, and cyberattacks or security breaches. In addition, the energy usage and environmental impact of certain blockchains have attracted considerable attention, which could potentially create a negative consumer sentiment and
perception of digital assets and delay a wider acceptance and use of Circle stablecoins, whether or not Circle stablecoins are available on those blockchains.

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The acceptance of Circle stablecoins could be negatively impacted by the disruptions in secondary marketplaces that facilitate the purchase and sale of Circle stablecoins.

The various markets for
stablecoins have varying degrees