Circle raises $60m from China-based investors

Circle announced it has raised $60 million in new funding from a consortium of technology and financial firms in China.

The latest funding comes from existing investor and Beijing-based tech investment fund IDG Capital Partners, as well as Chinese firms including Baidu, CICC Alpha and Everbright Investments.

Circle co-founders Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire indicated that the Series D round will be used to fund its global operations, and that Circle China had been capitalized six months ago with a separate seed round.

“We’re not aiming to compete with the domestic market as that would be a suicide mission given the strength of local players like Alipay and WeChat, but we can connect Chinese consumers with the euro zone and dollar markets,” said Allaire.

Circle’s China unit operates as a separate locally incorporated company and has not yet launched a product, pending a deal with a local banking partner and a legal license to operate.

Circle is a US-based blockchain payments company.