Stablecoin issuer Circle raises US$1.05 billion in upsized US IPO

CIRCLE Internet on Wednesday (Jun 4) priced its upsized US initial public offering (IPO) at US$31 apiece, raising US$1.05 billion, adding fresh momentum to a growing pipeline of late-stage cryptocurrency firms eyeing public markets.

Circle and its shareholders sold 34 million shares at US$31 apiece, valuing the company, which issues the USDC stablecoin, at roughly US$8 billion on a fully diluted basis. The IPO had been marketed in a range of US$27 to US$28 per share.

The company’s flotation would rank among the biggest of the year, following a period of market uncertainty sparked by the Trump administration’s shifting trade policies that prompted many firms to delay IPO plans.

Circle’s IPO, which will also be one of the biggest crypto listings since Coinbase Global’s stock market debut in 2021, marks an eventful year in the sector’s push towards traditional finance under US President Donald Trump, who has promised lighter crypto regulations.

“The huge demand for Circle’s IPO is a boon for both the IPO market and cryptocurrency-linked listings,” Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket, said.

There still seems to be a divide in the market, with institutional demand focused on stablecoins and other less-volatile crypto assets such as infrastructure or exchanges, rather than on more speculative single-cryptocurrency investments that aren’t tied to benchmarks such as the US dollar, Kerr added.

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Founded in 2013, Circle is the issuer of USDC, which has a market capitalisation of more than US$61 billion and is the second-biggest stablecoin after Tether, according to crypto market tracker CoinGecko.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value by linking them to traditional currencies such as the US dollar. Besides USDC, Circle also issues the euro-denominated stablecoin EURC.

Circle will start trading on the NYSE under the symbol “CRCL” on Thursday.

JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters for the offering. REUTERS