Circle upsized the deal and priced 34 million shares at $31 each, raising about $1.1 billion. The company was valued at $6.8 billion before trading began, or roughly $8 billion on a fully diluted basis. Circle originally planned a smaller offering of 24 million shares in the $24–$26 range, later raised to $27-$28, but strong demand drove the final size and price above those ranges.
The offering ranks as one of the largest crypto-related listings since Coinbase’s Nasdaq debut in 2021.A hot start
Circle’s stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL on June 5. The debut saw a surge in price with shares opening around $69.50 (up 124% from the $31 IPO price) and traded as high as $103.75. This sharp gain signals strong investor appetite for a crypto firm’s listing.
For comparison, Coinbase’s 2021 had an initial reference price of $250 and closed its first day near $328. Shares completely lost any post-IPO momentum and are now sitting at $245. However, the stock bottomed in 2023 at $31.55.
Is Circle doomed to see a similar fate? Analysts aren’t convinced. For starters, Circle’s core stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), is already one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies with roughly $60–61 billion in circulating supply, and is second only to Tether.
USDC’s adoption by exchanges, payment providers, and banks has made Circle a key player in digital finance. The firm’s financial track record is also stronger than many crypto startups. Notably, it reported $1.68 billion in revenue for 2024. Circle’s net income was $155.7 million last year, which was down from $267.5 million in 2023.
Regardless, the company is profitable, which is a rarity among crypto-native firms. One would expect that support from the crypto friendly White House will translate to rising profits over the coming years.
