Circle Internet IPO: Stablecoin giant fetches $18 billion valuation, shares more than triple by 235% in NYSE debut

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet's shares more than tripled by 235 per cent in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, a move expected to boost an IPO market that has struggled to regain momentum. Some of its shareholders raised nearly $1.1 billion in an initial public offering that was upsized twice amid strong demand.

The New York-based company's stock opened for trading at $69 apiece, valuing the stablecoin issuer at nearly more than $18 billion, on a fully-diluted basis. The stock rose as much as $103.75, versus an IPO price of $31 each, and was halted multiple times for volatility amid frenetic trading.

Circle Internet IPO details

The offering of 34 million shares by Circle and backers including co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire was increased from 32 million shares, and had been marketed at $27 to $28 each. The trading gives Circle a market value of $18.9 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings. Accounting for employee stock options, restricted share units and warrants, the company would have a fully diluted valuation of about $22.5 billion.

Circle and some existing investors raised $1.05 billion in an upsized IPO by selling 34 million shares at $31 apiece, above the marketed range of $27 to $28 each. "This morning we had Circle going public in what I can only characterize as a blowout deal," said Lynn Martin, president at NYSE Group.

Circle’s USDC had about 29% of the market as of the end of March, according to the filing citing data from CoinMarketCap. There is about $61 billion worth of the token in circulation as of May 29, its website shows.

Circle sold 14.8 million shares in the IPO, while the selling shareholders divested 19.2 million shares, the statement showed. The upsized deal fielded demand for more than 25 times the number of shares available as of when orders stopped being taken on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter have said. The target for Circle’s IPO was increased on Monday from the initial 24 million shares within a price range of $24 to $26 each, its earlier filings showed.

Circle Internet details

Circle's flotation is the biggest crypto listing since Coinbase's 2021 debut and the first major IPO by a stablecoin issuer. It had earlier attempted to go public through a $9 billion blank-check deal, but the deal fell apart in 2022.
The IPO was led by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CRCL.

Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, Circle issues the dollar-denominated USDC, the world's second-largest stablecoin by market cap after Tether. Besides USDC, Circle also issues the euro-denominated stablecoin EURC. Allaire, 53, has led Circle since its inception. He previously served as the co-founder and CEO of streaming technology company Brightcove.

ARK Investment Management, the technology-focused firm founded by Cathie Wood, is interested in buying as much as $150 million of shares in Circle’s IPO, according to the filing. BlackRock manages a government money market fund on Circle’s behalf that holds 90% of the reserves backing its USDC stablecoin, according to the filing. The Circle Reserve Fund has a balance of $53.3 billion as of May 29, according to the company’s website.