Circle has hit the public market with a bang.
The stablecoin giant’s stock jumped 20% in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The shares were up 168% from their listing price of $31 a share.
The stock, which uses the ticker CRCL, is at $83 in pre-market trading on Friday.
The performance blew away expectations for the issuer of USDC, and raised hopes for other crypto ventures eyeing an initial public offering.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Wall Street also starts paying more attention,” Carlos Guzman, an analyst at the market-making firm GSR, told DL News.
“This IPO performance will almost surely prompt others in crypto to want to go public.”
New billionaire
Circle, which issues the second-largest stablecoin called USDC, raised $1.1 billion in the offering.
The company is valued at $18.5 billion, and its CEO, Jeremy Allaire, has been vaulted to billionaire status thanks to his more than 18 million shares in the company.
The New York-based company joins an exclusive club of crypto companies that have gone public, including Coinbase, the top US crypto exchange, and eToro, a British-Israeli online trading platform that has catered to crypto investors for more than a decade.
Coinbase went public via a direct listing with an $85 billion valuation in 2021, and eToro raked in $620 million earlier this year via its IPO.
“Circle’s IPO is a watershed moment that could open the public markets to other long-standing crypto firms,” Eliézer Ndinga, head of strategy at crypto investment firm 21Shares, told DL News.
“Don’t be surprised if Circle expands into consumer-facing products like an on-chain forex app.”
61% surge
Circle has come a long way in a short time.
Five years ago, the company recorded $15 million in revenue. In the first quarter of this year, it notched almost $558 million, a 61% jump from the same period in 2024. Circle earned about $65 million in net income in the first three months of this year.
The 12-year-old company generates most of its revenue from reserves — largely US Treasury bonds — it stockpiles to support USDC.
Worth nearly $250 billion, stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to currencies such as the US dollar or the euro, have emerged as one of the buzziest sectors in the cryptocurrency industry.
Circle’s USDC token enjoys 24% of the market, while Tether’s USDT commands more than 61%, according to DefiLlama.
Yet as the biggest stablecoin issuer in the world after Tether, Circle is in the thick of tectonic changes in its sector, and that may be what’s attracting investors.
This summer, the US Senate is expected to approve a landmark bill that will establish the rules and regulations for stablecoin issuers.
Circle, which, unlike Tether, has chosen to adhere to crypto regulations in the European Union and elsewhere, is primed to do business in this new era.
Payments tool
At the same time, stablecoins are fast proving their utility as a payment processing tool to financial firms and regulators.
In February, Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, said the lender would “go into that business” after legislation is passed.
And Chris Colson, a payments researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, told DL News that same month that it was only a matter of time before stablecoins are integrated into the payments processing infrastructure.
But as the only stablecoin company listed on public markets, Circle is in a league of its own, say analysts.
“Although it’s a competitive space and many traditional players are looking to step in, Circle is attractive as the second biggest player in the space with a significant lead compared to competitors other than Tether,” said Guzman.
Crypto market movers
Bitcoin is down nearly 1% over the past 24 hours and is at $103,905.
Ethereum plummeted 5% in the last day and is trading at $2,481.
What we’re reading
Why DeFi ‘purity test’ is centre stage in new crypto mega-bill ― DL News
Trump-backed World Liberty Financial launches major USD1 airdrop ― Unchained
Why Hyperliquid is better than OnlyFans — Milk Road
Ethereum Foundation unveils new treasury policy ― Unchained
Trump memecoin and Tesla stock crash amid billionaires’ online spat ― DL News
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at [email protected].
