The first IPO of a stablecoin is here. Digital currency giant Circle is expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 5, marking the first IPO in the stablecoin sector.
Circle impacts the first stablecoin stock
Circle was founded in 2013 as a company focused on fiat currency transfer services. Circle quickly rose to prominence in the payment field with its innovative product Circle Pay and was dubbed 'the Alipay of the U.S.'
Circle also serves as the issuer of the dollar stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). It is reported that USDC is the second largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization, pegged one-to-one with dollar assets, including cash and short-term government bonds, with a circulation of about $60 billion, accounting for approximately 26% of the total market capitalization of stablecoins.
From the financial data, Circle has shown strong growth momentum in recent years. The prospectus indicates that Circle's revenue for 2022, 2023, and 2024 is projected to be $772 million, $1.45 billion, and $1.676 billion, respectively, showing an upward trend year by year. However, the company's net profit has fluctuated, with net profit of $156 million in 2024, significantly down from $268 million in 2023. Despite fluctuations in operating profit and net profit, overall, Circle's profitability remains at a high level.
According to the prospectus released by the company, it plans to issue 24 million shares in this IPO, including 9.6 million new shares and 14.4 million shares from existing shareholders. Underwriters have the right to issue an additional 3.6 million shares. The IPO price is between $24 and $26, expected to raise $624 million. If the underwriters exceed the issuance, the maximum funds raised will reach $718 million. The stock code is 'CRCL.'
In addition, from the information disclosed in the prospectus, the company’s largest shareholders include many large international investment institutions, such as Accel, Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, IDG Capital, Oak Investment Partners, and entities related to FMR.
Institutional shareholders of Circle (Source: Company prospectus)
This is Circle's second attempt to go public. In 2022, the company tried to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) but ultimately failed.
“If you can accept the currency we are talking about, digitize it and put it on the internet, it will greatly change the way we use currency and open up opportunities globally. This is the concept behind Circle,” said Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire.
If Circle can successfully go public, it is expected to further close the gap with leading enterprise Tether.
Public information shows that Tether's USD stablecoin USDT circulation exceeded $143.7 billion in 2024, accounting for 61.9% of the stablecoin market, making Tether the largest stablecoin issuer. Tether's total reserve assets reached $125.47 billion, mainly in cash and cash equivalents (U.S. Treasury bonds), with $7.86 billion in Bitcoin and $5.32 billion in gold. Notably, the amount of U.S. Treasury bonds held was $102.5 billion, exceeding that of countries like Germany and Australia, making it the seventh largest buyer globally. Tether's net profit for the entire year of 2024 was $13 billion, surpassing traditional financial giants like BlackRock ($4.699 billion) and Visa ($12.8 billion).
Multiple countries and regions advance legislation on stablecoins
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that maintains price stability by anchoring to fiat currencies (such as the dollar), commodities (such as gold), or other assets. Its core value lies in solving the high volatility issues of traditional cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum), becoming a 'value anchor' and 'medium of exchange' in the blockchain ecosystem. Taking dollar stablecoins as an example, they create a 'digital dollar' by anchoring to the dollar, combining the instant transfer and global circulation characteristics of cryptocurrencies with the price stability advantages of traditional currencies.
In fact, as a core tool for decentralized finance (DeFi), NFT trading, and cross-chain interoperability, stablecoins are reconstructing the global payment and value circulation system.
Trends in stablecoin market capitalization and Circle's market share
On May 19 this year, the U.S. (GENIUS Act) (full name: (Guidance and Establishment of the National Innovation Act for U.S. Stablecoins)) was officially passed by the Senate. On May 21, Hong Kong's (Stablecoin Regulation) was passed in the Legislative Council's third reading for 2025 and is expected to take effect within the year. Prior to this, the two regulations were almost simultaneously implemented, reflecting the consensus among major global financial centers to shift stablecoins from 'wild growth' to 'compliance governance,' both to prevent risks and to compete for future financial discourse.
However, the transparency of stablecoin issuance companies has long been criticized. Among them, the 2019 investigation by the New York State Attorney General found that Tether was mixing funds with Bitfinex. In February 2021, Tether and its affiliated cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex reached a settlement with the New York State Attorney General's office, agreeing to pay a $18.5 million fine and committing to disclose the composition of USDT reserves to regulators and the public quarterly.