BTC $85,495 
ETH $2,697 
USDT $0.9999 
BNB $779.51 
XRP $1.50 
USDC $0.9999 
SOL $120.78 
TRX $0.3356 
FIGR_HELOC $1.04 
ZEC $1,353 Circle shares DJ Khaled USDC shirt photo and draws backlash
USDC's account posted a photo of DJ Khaled in a Chelsea shirt, and CEO Jeremy Allaire welcomed him to "team USDC."
Key takeaways
- No deal was announced. Neither post names a sponsorship, an ambassador role or any payment, and Khaled's own X feed does not mention a USDC partnership.
- Khaled paid $150,000-plus. He paid over $150,000 in SEC fines for not disclosing a paid token promotion.
- Centra paid him $50,000. The SEC said Khaled received $50,000 from Centra Tech, a $25 million ICO.
What happened
USDC's official X account posted a photo of DJ Khaled wearing a Chelsea jersey with "USDC by Circle" across the chest, captioned "Another one." About four hours later, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire shared it with a note addressed to the rapper: "DJ Khaled welcome to team USDC." Nothing in either post announces a sponsorship, an ambassador role, or any money.
Chelsea's front-of-shirt sponsor is Circle, and Khaled's link to the club comes through another route: a Roc Nation announcement for Chelsea in May featured him as a promotional stunt. Khaled's own X feed does not mention any partnership with USDC. Circle issues the $74 billion stablecoin USDC.
Why it matters
Khaled's crypto history is why the posts drew a reaction. A November 2018 SEC press release says he and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. settled with the SEC after failing to disclose payments they received for promoting ICOs. The SEC said Khaled was paid $50,000 from Centra Tech, and the pair paid settlements of approximately $153,000 and $615,000, with Khaled agreeing not to promote securities for two years. The SEC and DOJ never charged Khaled with fraud, the case concerned an undisclosed payment.
Critics responded in public. Joseph Schiarizzi posted, "Please don't work with scammers like this." Taylor Monahan, formerly of Metamask, asked whether Circle had hired someone charged over an ICO scam that was prosecuted by the Department of Justice and the SEC.
Circle is a publicly listed company, so the association drew attention from people who track celebrity promotion in crypto. The episode shows how quickly a light social post can become a dispute about disclosure.
What the data shows
Decrypt reported that Khaled paid over $150,000 in fines to the SEC for not disclosing a paid deal. Protos reported that the Centra Tech ICO raised $25 million and that one co-founder went to prison for eight years and another for one year. The SEC ordered Kim Kardashian to pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement and interest in 2022 over an undisclosed $250,000 payment for promoting the EthereumMax token.
Background
Circle has faced criticism on other fronts. Its Arc blockchain launch came with a team member promoting a memecoin based on Allaire's dog Duke, the DUKE token peaked at a market cap of around $2 million and is down 96% in the three weeks since launch.
Circle is also criticized for not using USDC's freeze function after hacks. ZachXBT claims to have identified $420 million of "compliance failures" across 15 incidents. Circle did act first in the $350 million Bitget hack, blacklisting an address holding almost 100,000 USDC and beating Tether by seven hours.
What is still unclear
- Whether Khaled holds any formal role with USDC is not stated in either post.
- Whether any payment is involved is not disclosed, and Khaled's own X feed does not mention the partnership.
Questions readers ask
Did Circle hire DJ Khaled as a USDC ambassador?
No announcement of a sponsorship or ambassador role appears in the posts. Allaire's note said "welcome to team USDC," and Khaled's own X feed does not mention any partnership with USDC.
What did DJ Khaled pay the SEC?
He paid over $150,000 in fines to the SEC for not disclosing a paid token promotion, and his settlement in the ICO touting case was approximately $153,000. The SEC said he was paid $50,000 from Centra Tech.
Is Circle the Chelsea shirt sponsor?
Yes. Circle is Chelsea's official front-of-shirt sponsor, and the jersey in the photo reads "USDC by Circle." Khaled's connection to the club came through a Roc Nation announcement in May.
Why did Crypto Twitter criticize Circle?
Critics pointed to Khaled's settled SEC case over undisclosed ICO promotion payments. Commenters including Joseph Schiarizzi and Taylor Monahan questioned the association.
