Fake "CircleMetals" site mimics Circle with bogus tokenized metals offer on December 24, 2025

On December 24, 2025, a fraudulent "CircleMetals" platform circulated a fake press release claiming that USDC issuer Circle had launched tokenized gold and silver trading. The scam used Circle branding, fabricated executive quotes, and a website that asked users to connect their wallets for swaps between USDC and non-existent GLDC, SILC, and CIRM tokens. Circle later confirmed the announcement was false and urged users to verify product news only through its official channels.