Circle Acquires Interop Labs Team, Excludes Axelar Foundation and Token - Unchained

Stablecoin issuer Circle has agreed to acquire the Interop Labs team and its proprietary intellectual property, key early contributors to the Axelar Network.

Circle announced the acquisition on Monday as part of its strategy to expand cross chain capabilities, but noted that Axelar Network, Foundation and AXL token would “continue to operate independently under community governance.”

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Those exclusions drew backlash from some members of the community, with several industry watchers arguing that the deal benefits equity holders at the expense of AXL token holders.

“Sure it’s legal for circle to acquire axelar, a team which has vested and sold tons of AXL over the years, with token holders getting zero upside or benefit. But it’s still ultimate scumbag behavior,” said one user on X

AXL dropped 12% after news of the Circle deal, now trading around 88% below its all-time high

“Another acquisition, another rug. Circle acquiring Axelar while explicitly excluding the foundation and the AXL token is outright criminal. If not legally, then morally,” said Simon Dedic, managing partner at Moonrock Capital.