“When in January we arrived from London to look for an office, as soon as we visit the Fintech District, sincerely, the choice was inevitable. We fell in love with this place that, for us, is absolutely a reference point. It’s the place where it makes more sense to stay with our business”. Joined the community at the beginning of the year, Circle has an Italian team of three people and “we are now starting our operations that will mainly be linked to marketing and business development”.
Elena Lavezzi, General Manager at Circle, explains that “the Italian market is one of those that responded in the best way in Europe, and not just with millennials. Our ambassador program in just a few months already has over 200 students distributed throughout Italy. It is true that there is a lot of educational and cultural work to do here, but I am sure that the Fintech District can certainly act as coordinator. All the international fintechs, all the startups most interesting and closer to our world, all the tech companies are here, the area is becoming the new Silicon Valley of Milan. it is also the reason why we had no doubts about entering the community”.
Founded in 2013 with the mission of “allowing anyone from anywhere in the world to create and share value”, Circle is present in 29 countries with Circle Pay, its headquarters is in Dublin but this fintech company has now offices all over the world, from America to Europe and Asia “We are about 160 people in the world and we will become more than double by the end of the year” says Lavezzi, explaining how all Circle’s products based on blockchain technology were born.
“The two founders, Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, who have worked together for more than 20 years in the internet world, saw a potential in putting together blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, in order to create a new type of consumer finance.”
As happened for Italy, Circle opens all the markets with Circle Pay, “the flagship product”, a chat that allows you to send and ask for money in a completely free and instant way and internationally. “You can exchange dollars, euros and pounds and through Circle Pay you send SMS and also photos, emoticons and GIF. This is the product with which we are more known but we actually have other products”.
Circle Invest allows anyone who wants to get closer to the world of “crypto”, to invest in cryptocurrencies with a few steps and in a few moments. “We acquired a few months ago Poloniex, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world – Lavezzi also says – and then we have our trading desk from which we generate revenues. Our OTC trading desk allows professional investors to invest in the world of cryptocurrencies”.
By the end of the year, some of these products will arrive in Europe, including Italy, but in the meantime from the offices in Copernico Isola for S32, Circle’s team is working at full capacity and will soon expand. Parallel to the ambassadors program, the one dedicated to partnerships with startups is continuing. The first two, with Foorban and Mamaclean, are an example of how Circle is looking for realities “not only with similar targets but also suitable to show how simple and effective our product Circle Pay is”.