Circle’s stock surged as high as $103.75 and had to be halted multiple times to contain volatility, owing to uncontrolled trading.
Circle Internet, one of the biggest Stablecoin issuers, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday. Circle shares more than doubled, providing a much-needed boost to the initial public offering (IPO) market, which has been struggling to regain investor confidence.
The Stablecoin issuer’s stocks opened for trading at $69 per share, catapulting the company’s value to nearly $18 billion on a fully diluted basis. The New York-based company’s stock surged as high as $103.75 and had to be halted multiple times to contain volatility, owing to uncontrolled trading. The shares finally closed at $83.23, a 168% increase from their initial IPO price.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies which hold stable value as they are linked to traditional currencies like the US dollar. Circle was founded in 2013 and issues the USDC stablecoin with a market capitalisation of over $61 billion, making it the second-largest stablecoin after Tether. Circle will trade on the NYSE under the symbol ‘CRCL’ with JP Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs as its lead underwriters.
With the IPO market struggling to gain momentum, this successful flotation will encourage other crypto companies to go public. Digital assets are piquing the interest of investors as token prices rise and more favourable regulations are likely to be introduced, which could prompt more companies to debut their listings.
Financial analysts believe that crypto companies going public will make the future of the cryptocurrency industry more stable and secure. Having publicly traded companies will make it easier for the crypto ecosystem. Yesterday, Circle priced its upsized US IPO offering at $31 apiece, raising $1.05 billion. Circle and its shareholders managed to sell 34 million shares for $31 each, raising the company’s valuation to $8 billion on a fully diluted basis.
This late-stage cryptocurrency firm’s entry into the market is one of the biggest flotations of the year, after US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies caused much uncertainty in the market, resulting in several companies delaying their IPO listings. Circle’s debut is also one of the biggest crypto listings since Coinbase Global went public in 2021.
Despite these economic upheavals and stock market volatility, the cryptocurrency industry does look at the next few years with optimism, as Trump has been hailed as the ‘crypto President’, having promised friendlier regulations. The Trump administration aims to impose fewer restrictions on the crypto industry in an attempt to bring these digital assets into the mainstream, making the market a more pro-crypto environment.
This optimism has translated into companies adding cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets to capitalise on rising token prices. However, there remains some scepticism dividing the market, as demand for stablecoins and less-volatile crypto assets remains higher, as opposed to more speculative single-cryptocurrency investments, which are not backed by the US dollar.
This is Circle’s second attempt to go public after it ended its $9 billion deal with blank-check firm Concord Acquisition Corp in 2022. This was a result of a lack of enthusiasm from both companies, as the crypto industry was exhibiting a bearish sentiment for risky bets.
However, the company has debuted in the IPO market at the right time, as the potential stablecoin bill in the US could further boost the adoption of these digital tokens, bringing them into the mainstream. Reuters reported that CEO Jeremy Allaire said that Circle is on an innovation spree, working to bring stablecoins into the mainstream financial market, and also exploring ways to facilitate the interaction of financial institutions with the USDC.
Circle’s inaugural run in the NYSE is an indicator that the IPO market will soon pick up and also that crypto companies will make haste to go public with their listings, elevating the value of digital assets and possibly normalising their interaction in the financial sector.