Circle Internet Group, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, announced on September 25 that Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Fox-Geen will step down by the end of December 2026. The company disclosed the departure the same day it confirmed that co-founder and board director P. Sean Neville has also resigned from the board, shrinking Circle's board from eight to seven directors. At a newly public company, the CFO role anchors financial reporting and investor communications, which puts the position squarely in focus for the shareholders Circle gained through its NYSE listing.

A five-year tenure capped by a $1.2 billion IPO

Fox-Geen joined Circle in May 2021 and has spent more than five years as the company's top financial officer. Over that stretch, he guided the firm through a $1.2 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL.

He will remain in the CFO seat until December 31, 2026, or until a successor is formally appointed, whichever comes first. Circle said it has already engaged a leading executive search firm to identify his replacement. Whoever takes over will inherit the finance organization Fox-Geen built out, now operating under the disclosure obligations that come with being a listed company.

Fox-Geen's separation agreement includes a conditional cash payment of $1.05 million. His base salary was $500,000 per year, with eligibility for a 2026 incentive capped at 110% of that base.

The departing CFO framed the timing as intentional, saying that leaving now feels right after achieving several key milestones.

Neville's quiet exit

Neville co-founded Circle and cited personal reasons for his resignation from the board. According to the company, his departure was not the result of any disagreement with Circle on matters of operations, policies, or practices. The resignation leaves one seat open on the now seven-member board.

What Fox-Geen built

When Fox-Geen arrived in 2021, Circle was still a private company. Over the following five years, he helped build out the firm's finance organization, steered it through the crypto winter of 2022-2023, and ultimately led it to an IPO that valued the company at $1.2 billion. Circle's earlier attempt to go public through a SPAC deal collapsed in late 2022 — the arc from that failed listing effort to a completed NYSE offering is the track record Fox-Geen's successor will step into.

The backdrop for Circle and USDC

USDC, issued by Circle, ranks as the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. With US stablecoin legislation continuing to progress through Congress, Circle has positioned itself as the industry's most regulation-friendly stablecoin issuer. That positioning means the incoming CFO will take charge while the rules governing US dollar stablecoins are still being written, and the items to watch are how quickly Circle names its next finance chief and how the handover proceeds while USDC holds its No. 2 position.