Circle Denounces 'Fake' Platform Offering Tokenized Precious Metals Swaps

A press release that emerged on Christmas Eve, claiming Circle had unveiled a platform for tokenized gold and silver swaps, has been disavowed by the company. The release, which utilized Circle's branding and quoted executives, including CEO Jeremy Allaire, was described as 'not real' by a Circle spokesperson. The platform, dubbed 'CircleMetals,' had been promoted through a press release distributed on December 24, a time when many US businesses were closed or operating with reduced capacity. It described a service enabling around-the-clock swaps between USDC and purported gold and silver tokens, allegedly backed by COMEX-linked liquidity, and prompted users to swap on the platform in exchange for rewards in a mysterious token called CIRM. However, the website has since been taken down, and CoinDesk was unable to verify the existence of the CIRM token or the precious metals tokens. The website had asked users to connect their wallets, a practice generally considered risky as it can expose users to potential wallet drainage by malicious actors. Following CoinDesk's reporting, Circle warned users to be vigilant, emphasizing the importance of verifying the legitimacy of requests, especially when connecting wallets. The fake press release, which was distributed via crypto-focused PR wires, included links to a swap platform and offered rewards for swaps of the supposed tokenized gold and silver tokens. Initially posted on a community forum and subsequently shared on other websites and by distributors, the blog article was swiftly taken down after compliance checks by a PR agency called FinaCash and a distributor called Chainwire.