CRCL Soars on Wall Street Debut as Stablecoin Sentiment Heats Up
Circle (CRCL) made a stunning public debut on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, closing the day up 167% from its $31 IPO price to finish at $83 per share. The stock surged as high as $104 during intraday trading, echoing the euphoric listing seen with Coinbase in 2021.
The listing comes after Circle upsized its initial public offering (IPO) to $1.05 billion, offering 34 million shares at $31 each amid soaring investor demand.
Key IPO Numbers:
IPO Price: $31
Closing Price: $83
Intraday High: $104
Total Raise: $1.05 billion
Valuation: ~$6.9 billion (based on 220M outstanding shares)
Big Backers: BlackRock and ARK Join the Party
The bullish sentiment was bolstered by major institutions:
BlackRock revealed plans to acquire 10% of the IPO.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest expressed interest in buying $150 million worth of shares.
This institutional backing likely contributed to the IPO’s oversubscription and the dramatic surge in CRCL’s trading.
Stablecoin Use Surges Alongside Circle’s Listing
Circle is best known as the issuer of USDC, the second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin by market capitalization. The strong NYSE debut coincided with rising stablecoin activity:
USDC trading volume jumped 22% over the last 24 hours.
USDT, the top stablecoin, saw its volume rise 13%.
The IPO success suggests growing investor appetite for stablecoin infrastructure, especially as traditional finance increasingly integrates with blockchain ecosystems.
Industry Drama: Arca Slams Circle’s Allocation Strategy
Circle’s listing wasn’t without controversy. In a now-deleted post, Arca CIO Jeff Dorman criticized the firm for providing only $135,000 in share allocation to one of its earliest supporters.
“You’ve come full Circle,” Dorman wrote, referencing Arca’s long-standing support for the company.
Is This Another Coinbase Moment?
Despite the excitement, some market watchers are cautious. Comparisons are already being drawn to Coinbase’s 2021 IPO, which:
Opened at $381
Peaked at $430
Dropped below $200 within weeks.
