Axelar price moved sharply higher today, posting a gain of more than 20% and extending a rally that has been building for several sessions. AXL price strength has caught attention because it comes after months of persistent weakness. The move looks impressive on the surface, yet the broader

Circle announced the acquisition of the development team Interop Labs from Axelar Network, aiming to strengthen its cross-chain infrastructure. This acquisition only involves the team and technology, excluding Axelar and its token AXL, which has sparked dissatisfaction and discussion among holders. Supporters believe this is the norm in the market, but critics accuse the token holders of being excluded. The core issue lies in the positioning of the token within the capital structure, which requires further exploration of its rights and value.

Circle acquires Axelar development team but does not take over the tokens, sparking community outrage. From Vertex, Padre to Tensor, "want the team, want the technology, don't want the tokens" has become a trend, marginalizing retail investors' interests and highlighting the awkward positioning of cryptocurrency token rights. (Background summary: Circle releases Q3 financial report: revenue soars 66%, net profit doubles to $214 million, USDC market cap surpasses $73.7 billion) (Additional background: Circle partners with Aleo to launch privacy stablecoin "USDCx," with transaction records and wallet addresses all invisible) Earlier this week, the Interop Labs team (initial developers of Axelar Network) announced they were acquired by Circle to accelerate its multi-chain infrastructure Arc and C

Global second-largest stablecoin issuer Circle announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the initial development team of cross-chain protocol Axelar, Interop Labs, and its proprietary intellectual property. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2026. This acquisition aims to accelerate the development of Circle's Arc blockchain and cross-chain transfer protocol CCTP, but explicitly excludes Axelar network, the foundation, and its token AXL. This "cherry-picking" acquisition immediately sparked significant controversy in the crypto community, criticized as "extraction" from open-source projects, and also signaled that as regulatory frameworks become clearer, large compliant institutions are rushing to gain control over blockchain interoperability, a core infrastructure.