Circle has drawn criticism from crypto users after its official USDC account posted a photo of DJ Khaled in a Chelsea shirt carrying “USDC by Circle” branding, with the caption “Another one.”
Chief executive Jeremy Allaire followed up with “DJ Khaled welcome to team USDC.” Circle has not announced any formal sponsorship, ambassador role or partnership with Khaled.
Where the link comes from
Circle is Chelsea FC’s front-of-shirt sponsor. Khaled is connected to the club through a separate deal with Roc Nation, announced in May 2026. The overlap put him in a USDC-branded shirt without any deal between him and Circle being made public.
Why it drew a reaction
Critics pointed to Khaled’s history with crypto promotion. In 2018, he settled with the SEC over promoting the initial coin offering of Centra Tech without disclosing that he had been paid $50,000 to do so. He paid more than $150,000 in total, and settled without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.
Centra raised about $25 million before it collapsed. Co-founder Sohrab Sharma was later sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud.
Security researcher Taylor Monahan and others questioned why Circle would associate with Khaled. Another user compared the move to sponsoring Kim Kardashian, who paid $1.26 million to the SEC over an undisclosed EthereumMax promotion.
Why it matters for Circle
Circle is a listed company and the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, and it has built its brand around regulatory compliance. That is why a casual social media post drew such a sharp reaction.
Circle had not publicly responded to the criticism at the time of writing.
