Circle put USDC on Chelsea’s shirt and the FCA did not blink

The first regulated crypto company to land a Premier League shirt deal did so three months after the Financial Conduct Authority told clubs to stop signing “dodgy” sponsors. Circle is not dodgy. But the product on the shirt exists in a regulatory gap that will stay open until October 2027. Summary Circle (NYSE: CRCL) signed a one-year Principal Partner deal with Chelsea FC worth an estimated 33.6 million to 50 million pounds, placing “USDC by CIRCLE” across men’s, women’s, and academy shirts for the 2026/27 season. The kit debuted on August 31 during Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Brighton, Xabi Alonso’s first Premier League home match as manager, reaching an audience drawn from the league’s 4.7 billion cumulative seasonal viewers. Circle holds FCA Electronic Money Institution license No. 900480, granted in 2018, making it the only crypto shirt sponsor in English football history that the regulator actually authorized before the deal was signed. The FCA warned Premier League clubs in late May 2026 that “unauthorised financial firms” were “using sponsorship to target unwitting fans,” a letter that killed Crypto.com’s reported 100 million pound deal with Manchester City. Circle’s own disclos...