USDC and other cryptocurrencies stabilized after U.S.
authorities announced plans to limit the fallout from the
collapse of SVB and Circle said USDC remained redeemable with
the dollar.
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington and Elizabeth Howcroft
in London; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
(Updates with more detail throughout)
By Hannah Lang and Elizabeth Howcroft
March 22 (Reuters) - Stablecoin USDC's issuer Circle
said its chief strategy officer's Twitter account was hacked on
Wednesday, after the account posted a link appearing to offer
holders of the stablecoin USDC a "one-time bonus" of free
cryptocurrency.
The Twitter account of Dante Disparte, Circle's chief
strategy officer, sent a series of tweets appearing to address
the stablecoin's recent move away from its dollar peg.
One of the tweets - which is no longer visible - said that
Circle "will be distributing a one-time bonus of USDC to all
existing holders".
"This bonus is our way of thanking you for your continued
support and trust in USDC," the tweet said.
That website contained a link which prompted users to "get
USDC" by inputting the information for their crypto wallets.
A spokesperson for Circle told Reuters that Disparte's
account had been hacked. Circle's official Twitter account said
that Disparte's account had been "taken over by a scammer".
"Any link to offers are scams. We are investigating the
situation and taking action accordingly," Circle's tweet said.
USDC hit a record low of $0.88 on March 11, according to
CoinGecko data, far below its intended peg of 1:1 against the
dollar. The fall was sparked by concerns about the exposure of
Circle to Silicon Valley Bank, which U.S. regulators had
shuttered the day before.
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