Stablecoin issuer Circle raises $1.05 billion in IPO in the US
Circle Internet set the price for its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, increased, at $31 per share this Wednesday, raising $1.05 billion and adding a new boost to the growing wave of advanced-stage cryptocurrency companies aiming for the stock market.
Circle and its shareholders sold 34 million shares at $31 each, valuing the issuer of the stablecoin USDC at about $8 billion on a fully diluted basis. The IPO price range was initially set between $27 and $28 per share.
The company's debut on the stock exchange is among the largest of the year, following a period of market uncertainty caused by changes in the trade policies of the Trump administration, which led many companies to postpone their plans for an IPO.
The Circle IPO, which will also be one of the largest listings related to the crypto asset industry since the debut of Coinbase Global in 2021, marks a busy year amid sector efforts to integrate with traditional finance under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has promised lighter regulations for the industry.
"The enormous demand for Circle's IPO is a boost both for the IPO market and for listings related to cryptocurrencies," said Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket.
Founded in 2013, Circle is the issuer of USDC, which has a market capitalization of over $61 billion and is the second-largest stablecoin after Tether, according to cryptocurrency market tracker CoinGecko.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by pegging to traditional currencies such as the US dollar. In addition to USDC, Circle also issues the stablecoin EURC, denominated in euros.
Circle will begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker "CRCL" on Thursday.
Source: Reuters
