Circle and its USDC stablecoin account found themselves at the center of a Crypto Twitter storm after posting an image of rapper DJ Khaled wearing a Chelsea jersey with 'USDC by Circle' branding. The post, published on October 5, 2026, carried the caption 'Another one,' a reference to Khaled's signature catchphrase. About four hours later, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire amplified the message, writing: 'DJ Khaled welcome to team USDC.'
The posts did not announce a sponsorship, ambassador role, employment relationship, or payment. Circle is Chelsea FC's official front-of-shirt sponsor, and DJ Khaled has a separate connection to the club through a Roc Nation promotional activation announced in May. That overlap made the branded jersey appear less conclusive than a direct endorsement deal.
The response from crypto users was immediate and largely negative. Critics pointed to Khaled's 2017 promotion of Centra Tech, a fraudulent ICO that raised more than $25 million. The SEC said Khaled received $50,000 for promoting Centra's CTR token to roughly 12.4 million Instagram followers without disclosing the payment, and he later settled for $152,725 in fines, disgorgement and interest. The SEC and DOJ did not charge Khaled with fraud; Centra's founders were separately prosecuted. Joseph Schiarizzi and Taylor Monahan were among those questioning the association, while Wazz Crypto sarcastically suggested sponsoring Kim Kardashian, who faced a separate SEC penalty over an undisclosed EthereumMax promotion.
Khaled's earlier restriction on paid securities promotions expired in November 2020, so the settlement does not prevent him from working with crypto companies now. However, the episode shows how quickly a stablecoin issuer's public image can be tied to a celebrity's promotional history, even without a confirmed paid campaign.
