Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )
Author: Golem ( @web3_golem )
Compliant stablecoin giant Circle may become the first beneficiary after the passage of the US stablecoin bill GENIUS Act .
On May 27, Circle disclosed the latest progress of its IPO application on the New York Stock Exchange. Circle will issue 24 million Class A shares, of which 9.6 million will be issued by the company and 14.4 million will be sold by existing shareholders. The expected pricing range is US$24 to US$26 per share. Circle can raise nearly US$250 million, while shareholders selling shares may receive nearly US$375 million for their shares.
Circle disclosed a target valuation of $6.71 billion, higher than the previous estimated range of $4-5 billion. Although Circles IPO listing progress remains smooth, the final result is still not set in stone. In the next 3-5 months, Circle will still be subject to inquiries from the US SEC. At the same time, the mainstream US capital market has increased its recognition of encryption, but some US stock companies on the verge of delisting have backdoor listing to raise their stock prices. The mainstream US capital market urgently needs more truly high-quality crypto stocks...
7-year IPO plan
From the beginning, Circle’s road to listing is similar to a large-scale immortal cultivation novel, in which the protagonist goes through seven years of hardships and finally ascends to heaven.
IPO idea was born, but encountered Waterloo in the bear market
Circles IPO idea was first revealed in 2018, when it launched the stablecoin USDC and acquired the crypto exchange Poloniex. In the same year, Circle received $110 million in financing from Bitmain, IDG Capital, Breyer Capital and other institutions, with a valuation of $3 billion.
However, the sudden bear market in 2019 caught everyone off guard. Circles valuation plummeted 75% to $750 million, and it was forced to sell Poloniex to Justin Sun. With the crisis coming, Circles IPO plan was naturally scrapped.
Using SPAC mergers to go public, being hit hard by regulators
Now it is 2021. After two years of compliance exploration and business development, USDC has become the second most influential stablecoin product in the market after USDT, so Circles IPO listing plan has been successfully unveiled this time. On July 8, 2021, Circle announced that it would go public through SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) Concord Acquisition Corp, with the code CRCL, and Circle was valued at US$4.5 billion. Although the crypto market has rebounded at this time, regulatory hostility to crypto has not subsided. Circle wants to circumvent traditional IPOs and strict regulatory scrutiny of crypto by listing through a backdoor listing.
However, Circles IPO plan was aborted again. In July 2021, Circle announced that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. SEC enforcement department, requiring Circle to prove that USDC is not a security. After a series of lengthy regulatory disputes and transaction delays, Circle announced the termination of its SPAC merger listing plan in December 2022.
However, this failure and the continued regulatory iron fist of the US SEC have not made Circle give up. After the plan failed, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said, Circle is still committed to becoming a public company in the long term. In June 2023, Circle once again recruited corporate legal counsel who could assist in the potential listing process.
Continuously submitting IPO applications, persisting for many years and finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel
At the beginning of 2024, perhaps having learned from the second failure, Circle chose a more traditional path and secretly submitted an IPO application in January of the same year, without disclosing the number of shares planned to be sold or the proposed price range of the new IPO application. Circles listing application was extremely low-key this time. Since being exposed by the media, the company has refused to comment on any contact between Circle and the SEC or other regulatory agencies, but has increased the approval rate of IPO approval by strengthening staffing and stabilizing financial conditions.
After a long wait, on April 2, 2025, Circle again submitted an S-1 document to the US SEC, intending to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the code CRCL, but the IPO pricing range has not yet been announced. According to subsequent market news, Circle is still postponing its IPO. On May 20, Circle said it was still pushing forward its IPO plan, with a target valuation of at least $5 billion, and had rejected acquisition requests from Coinbase and Ripple.
Finally, on May 28, 2025, Circle updated the details of its IPO listing. Circle will issue 24 million Class A shares, of which 9.6 million will be issued by the company and 14.4 million will be sold by existing shareholders. The expected pricing range is $24 to $26 per share. According to Reuters, Circles target valuation this time is $6.71 billion.
Although the update did not specify the specific IPO listing time, Cathie Woods ARK Investment Company has expressed its intention to purchase $150 million worth of Circle shares in the IPO.
Does this update mean that Circle’s IPO is a done deal?
Over the years, Circle has met many compliance requirements to fulfill its desire to go public, such as a more transparent and open audit mechanism, obtaining a New York virtual currency business license (BitLicense), issuing the Euro stablecoin EUROC and complying with MiCA requirements, etc. So is the result of this IPO application a foregone conclusion?
Although Circle has officially submitted its IPO application, there are still several necessary procedures before it can be officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange:
SEC Review and Registration Statement Effective
Circles application submission does not mean that it has come into effect. Circle also pointed out in its latest Form S-1 document that this issuance is subject to market conditions and there is no guarantee as to when or whether the issuance will be completed. In addition, before listing, the SEC needs to inquire about its registration statement (Comment Letter) and confirm that there are no major objections, and then the registration statement can be effective. Inquiries usually take one to two rounds and take 3 to 5 months to complete.
Roadshow Pricing and Over-allotment Option
After the SECs approval takes effect, Circles stock underwriting group (including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, etc.) will conduct a short roadshow to collect institutional investor demand and determine the final offering price. Circle also grants underwriters the option to over-allot up to 3.6 million shares within 30 days.
Officially listed for trading
Only on the second day after pricing is completed (usually one trading day after pricing), will CRCL shares be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. At this point, Circles IPO listing is truly completed.
In summary, submitting an IPO application is just a stepping stone, and Circles IPO success is not a foregone conclusion. However, in terms of the market and regulatory environment, as long as the Feds policy is stable during the SECs inquiry into Circle in the next few weeks, the regulation continues to be friendly to the crypto industry, and there are no drastic market fluctuations or black swan events, the probability of Circles successful listing can reach more than 80%.
Mainstream capital markets are in urgent need of real “crypto stocks”
If Circles listing on the New York Stock Exchange is ultimately successful, it will be a milestone for the entire crypto market and will also deepen the mainstream asset markets recognition of the crypto industry.
If Circle is successfully listed, it will also encourage other crypto companies to actively apply for IPOs. Previously, many crypto companies expected to go public:
Kraken: Since Coinbase’s successful IPO in 2021, Kraken has been eager to follow suit but has also failed many times. According to Bloomberg, it is actively preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the first quarter of 2026;
Gemini: Crypto exchange Gemini hinted at an IPO as early as 2021. There are even rumors that it has secretly submitted an IPO application and is working with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to advance it. It may be listed as early as 2025.
Bullish: Crypto exchange Bullish also intended to go public through SPAC in 2021, but the plan was ultimately shelved.
BitGo: U.S. crypto custody company BitGo is also considering an IPO as early as the second half of 2025.
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With the passage of the Stablecoin Act, the Trump Organization continues to release positive news for the crypto market, and the mainstream capital market in the United States is also being encouraged to invest in the crypto industry. The U.S. stock market is willing to pay more than $2 for $1 of crypto assets. The mainstream capital markets madness for the crypto industry has gradually emerged. However, it is undeniable that in the mainstream capital market in the United States, investors are still exposed to limited crypto categories, so they can only invest in some crypto-related stocks, such as companies that actively build crypto reserves.
However, this also provides an opportunity for junk US stocks on the verge of delisting to buy and hold a small amount of crypto assets to increase stock prices and improve their own valuations (Related reading: Bloomberg Chief Financial Writer: The underlying logic behind US listed companies crazy buying of cryptocurrencies ). But the fundamentals of these companies have not changed. There is only one Strategy in the world , but this trick was eventually discovered by the mainstream capital market, and the real crypto industry may also be harmed.
It is imperative to allow more truly high-quality crypto stocks to enter the mainstream US capital market.
