On-chain investigator ZachXBT has hit out at Circle for the misuse of their tokens by North Korean IT operatives. He claimed that the criminals have used the stablecoin to funnel tens of millions of dollars without any intervention from Circle. In addition, he also ripped into RLUSD over its user base.
This comes at a time USDC stablecoin issuer recently applied to establish a national trust bank in the United States in order to oversee its reserve. Circle had a successful initial public offering (IPO) in June, as the company was valued at around $18 billion.
ZachXBT rips into Ripple over RLUSD adoption
In a series of posts on X, ZachXBT accused Circle of turning a blind eye to illicit flows, calling it “a crime super cycle where no one cares.” The On-chain investigator stated that USDC is being used by North Korean IT workers to receive payments and claimed that recent related transactions reached tens of millions of dollars.
ZachXBT criticized the stablecoin issuer for claiming to be “compliant” while taking no action to freeze or monitor the funds. Amid the controversy, one XRP supporter suggested switching to Ripple’s new stablecoin RLUSD as a potentially safer alternative. ZachXBT did not hold back, stating: “I trust Circle, Paxos, or Tether infinitely more than Ripple.” He mentioned that, unlike Circle or Tether, with at least a base of organic users, Ripple has a history of “misrepresenting paid partnerships to make it appear like adoption.”
The issue ties into broader geopolitical concerns as North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking unit, has been linked to numerous high-profile crypto heists. As crypto adoption grows, G7 countries have increasingly prioritized coordinated action against North Korean cyber operations. The debate unfolds when Circle’s CRCL stock faces mounting selling pressure. It is down 28% over the past week. CRCL traded for $181.29 in the last session.
Meanwhile, the stablecoin market has been on the rise, smashing the $263 billion market cap and a 24-hour trading volume of over $62.4 billion. Tether’s USDT is leading the tally while holding a market cap of more than $157 billion. Circle’s USDC stands second in the tally with a cap of over $61 billion. Ripple’s RLUSD can be seen in the tally as it is still in its initial phase of booming.
RLUSD holds a market cap of around $455 million, which looks like a tiny number in front of the leaders. However, its native coin, XRP, has gained much in recent times due to a partial win in the lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). XRP price remained up by 3% over the past 30 days. XRP is trading at an average price of $2.20 at the press time. Its 24-hour trading volume is up by 116% to stand at $4.12 billion.
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