Shares in stablecoin issuer Circle soared by more than 150% on its New York Stock Exchange debut.
The U.S.-based issuer of one of the most popular cryptocurrencies made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday and quickly saw its value soar amid heavy interest from crypto enthusiasts and investors, according to ApNews.
Circle Internet Group issues USDC, a stablecoin that can be traded at a 1-to-1 ratio for U.S. dollars, and EURC, which can similarly be traded for euros.
Stablecoins are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that offer a buffer against volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. That makes them a much more reliable means of conducting commercial transactions than other forms of crypto.
Interest in Circle’s initial public offering is high. The company’s underwriters priced the offering at $31 per share Wednesday, up from an expected range of $27 to $28. The number of shares being sold was raised to 34 million from 32 million. Circle is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “CRCL.”
Circle Internet on Wednesday priced its upsized U.S. initial public offering at $31 apiece, raising $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 $31 apiece, valuing the company, which issues the USDC stablecoin, at roughly $8 billion on a fully diluted basis. The IPO had been marketed in a range of $27 to $28 per share.
The stock price soared above $96 at one point Thursday afternoon and landed at $83.23 by closing. Circle’s initial public offering is one of the biggest public listings for a crypto-related company since the exchange Coinbase went public in 2021.
„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 to Reuters. „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 like the U.S. dollar.” – Kerr added.
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Founded in 2013, Circle is the issuer of USDC, which has a market capitalization of more than $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 like the U.S. dollar. Besides USDC, Circle also issues the euro-denominated stablecoin EURC.
Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is building the world’s largest, most-widely used, stablecoin network, and issues, through its regulated affiliates, USDC and EURC stablecoins. Circle provides a comprehensive suite of financial and technology services that empower enterprises and developers to integrate stablecoins and blockchains into their products, services and business operations.
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