Circle raised $1.1 billion — almost twice what it had planned. The USDC issuer’s common-stock offering on the NYSE was 25 times oversubscribed, пишет Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
On June 5, Circle listed its shares on the NYSE. Trading is under the ticker CRCL.
I am incredibly proud and thrilled to share that @circle is now a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under $CRCL!
12 years ago we set out to build a company that could help remake the global economic system by re-imagining and re-building it from the ground up… pic.twitter.com/okcH0ys6Tc
— Jeremy Allaire — jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) June 5, 2025
According to CEO Jeremy Allaire, the move to the public markets is “a significant and powerful milestone.” He believes the world is ready to shift to “the Internet financial system.”
The Circle chief underlined the company’s commitment to trust, transparency, regulatory compliance and ethical governance. In his view, meeting NYSE standards and SEC rules will reinforce those qualities.
The fully diluted valuation came to $8.1 billion.
Circle and its investors, including Allaire, sold a total of 34 million Class A common shares at $31 apiece.
The lead underwriters are JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
Initially, the firm aimed to raise about $600 million with a range of $24–26 per share, implying a valuation of $5.4 billion.
Two days earlier Circle increased the size of the offering to $896 million with an expected capitalisation of $7.2 billion at the top end.
In early April the IPO was postponed indefinitely owing to market uncertainty in light of a review of trade tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Later, media reported that Circle might abandon the IPO and sell the business for $5 billion. The company was said to have held talks with Coinbase and Ripple. The latter sought to acquire Circle for $4–5 billion, but was rebuffed for “an insufficient amount.”
Coinbase had partnered with the firm via the Center consortium, which oversaw issuance of USDC. In August 2023 the structure was dissolved after the exchange bought a minority stake in Circle. Circle assumed the role of sole issuer of the stablecoin.
Timeline
In July 2021 Circle said it would go public via a reverse merger with Concord Acquisition Corp. It was reported that its shares would list on the NYSE under the ticker CRCL.
At the end of 2022 Circle terminated the deal with the SPAC. It followed the collapse of FTX, which worsened conditions in the digital-asset market and dampened Wall Street’s appetite for crypto firms.
The company was valued at $4.5 billion ahead of the merger, but in February 2022 the figure rose to $9 billion. The boards approved a new agreement at that time. The deal was slated to close by December 8, with an option to extend to January 31, 2023.
In February 2023 CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen stressed that the firm had not abandoned plans to go public, awaiting better conditions.
In November that year, Bloomberg learned of a return to the IPO plan. In January 2024 Circle filed confidentially.
Sector context
In June 2025 the market capitalisation of stablecoins topped $250 billion for the first time. USDT from Tether leads with a market value above $153 billion, followed by Circle’s USDC at $61.4 billion.
Citigroup forecast stablecoin market cap could rise to $3.7 trillion in five years, while Standard Chartered sees ~$2 trillion by 2028.
Circle’s IPO came amid a shifting regulatory backdrop for stablecoins. On May 19 the Senate advanced the GENIUS Act. The initiative aims to create a legal framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies and has Donald Trump’s support.
The bill requires full backing of stablecoins with U.S. dollars or highly liquid assets. Issuers with market caps above $50 billion must undergo annual audits.
On May 22 the WSJ reported that companies co-owned by JPMorgan, Bank of America, CitiGroup, Wells Fargo and other big banks are discussing launching a joint stablecoin.
In April Circle launched a new product for payments and cross-border transfers as an alternative to Visa and Mastercard.
Earlier, Borderless CEO Kevin Lehtiniitty warned Circle about the risk of weakening its position by going public.
In May, the listing price for trading platform eToro’s shares was $52, above the initial IPO range of $46–50 and reflecting stronger demand.
Similar plans to go public are also being considered by Gemini and Kraken.