Stablecoin Giant Circle Files IPO on NYSE at $6.7 Billion Valuation

Stablecoin issuer Circle is hoping to raise as much as $624 million for its much anticipated initial public offering. 

The crypto giant—which is behind USD Coin (USDC), the seventh-biggest digital asset in existence—filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday saying it would offer 24 million shares for $24 to $26 each. The firm is targeting a $6.7 billion fully diluted valuation.

Circle filed an S-1 form last month announcing its plans to go public—the latest company making moves to bring the fast-moving and sometimes convoluted world of crypto to the mainstream. 

And it has big backers: Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment said it has interest in buying up to $150 million of shares in the IPO, the filing says.

Circle is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL.

Circle’s crypto product, USDC, is one of the most important digital assets out there: Traders use stablecoins to enter and exit transactions; the digital tokens are considered the backbone of the crypto economy.

A total of $6.8 billion worth of USDC tokens have traded hands in the past day, CoinGecko data shows, making it the fourth-largest cryptocurrency in terms of volume. USDC’s market cap is currently valued at $61.5 billion.

USDC was launched by Circle and America’s biggest crypto exchange Coinbase in 2018 via the Centre Consortium. Coinbase, which went public in 2021, took an equity stake in Circle in August 2023 amid the dissolution of the consortium.

Circle tried to go public in 2022 via a SPAC, but scrapped the plans. Last year, rumors circulated that the firm would try again.

Amid IPO plans, Circle has reported been the target of acquisition attempts. In April, Bloomberg reported that crypto payments giant Ripple made a $4-5 billion offer for Circle, but was rebuffed due to the offer being too low.

Edited by Andrew Hayward