July 12 (Reuters) - Circle said on Wednesday it has reduced staff and ended investments in non-core activities as the stablecoin issuer seeks to shore up its balance sheet.

The company joins a list of cryptocurrency firms that have announced layoffs this year as a high interest rate environment and sliding crypto prices have dented investor confidence in the sector.

Coinbase Global, Chainalysis and Gemini all announced layoff plans earlier in the year after more than a trillion dollars were wiped out from the sector in 2022.

"Circle is redoubling its focus on core business activities and execution," the company said in an email to Reuters, adding that it was continuing to hire in "key areas of focus."

Crypto news portal CoinDesk reported about the developments at Circle earlier in the day. (Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)