Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has publicly criticized Circle Internet Group and CEO Jeremy Allaire over the company's handling of USDC freezes during past major exploits, specifically pointing to risks on the Hyperliquid platform. The remarks came as Circle deepened its partnership with Hyperliquid, with plans to stake 500,000 HYPE tokens this year and expand USDC integration.
ZachXBT questioned whether Circle would act swiftly enough during a large-scale incident, such as an eight or nine-figure exploit targeting Hyperliquid’s core infrastructure or its HyperEVM ecosystem. The criticism highlighted a perceived gap between Circle’s promotional support for crypto communities and its reactive capabilities in emergencies. Despite the controversy, HYPE gained 6% on the day and trading volume exceeded $332 million.
In parallel, Circle has rolled out significant upgrades to its stablecoin infrastructure, including the integration of Circle Gateway through partner Eco. This aims to unify USDC liquidity across blockchains, reducing deposit times from 15 minutes to roughly 30 seconds and allowing order sizes to increase tenfold. Additionally, the launch of CPN Managed Payments in April 2026 lets enterprises use stablecoins while Circle handles all backend blockchain management, compliance, and liquidity. These moves underscore Circle’s push to streamline cross-chain transactions and enterprise adoption, even as the Hyperliquid accusations raise fresh concerns about emergency response protocols.
