Axelar Token Drops Nearly 18% Following Circle Deal

Axelar token fell by 17.8% after Circle's acquisition of Interop Labs.

The native token of the Axelar network (AXL) fell by 17.8% following the announcement that Circle agreed to acquire Interop Labs, the main developer of the protocol.

The company acquired the engineering team and intellectual property. The network, Axelar Foundation, and the coin will remain independent and continue to operate under community governance. 

Interop Labs employees will join Circle to work on payment infrastructure. The company Common Prefix will handle further support and development of the Axelar ecosystem.

The acquisition will enable Circle to enhance asset interoperability in the Arc network with other blockchains and expand software developer kits for creating multichain applications. The deal is expected to close in early 2026.

The market reacted to the news with a swift sell-off of the asset. Traders realized that the acquisition does not directly benefit AXL holders. The token received neither support from the buyer nor a share in revenue distribution.

This event casts doubt on the belief that a protocol’s success automatically boosts its token’s price. Major players are interested in teams and technologies but may overlook associated assets if they are not structurally tied to the deal.

At the time of writing, the AXL price rose to $0.11. However, the coin has dropped 88% over the year.

Back in November, Coinbase and stablecoin startup BVNK abandoned a $2 billion acquisition deal.