Circle's Historic $1.1B IPO Catapults Stablecoin Giant to $6.9B Valuation Ahead of NYSE Listing

Circle Completes Upsized $1.1 Billion IPO, Valuing the Stablecoin Issuer at $6.9 Billion

In a major milestone for the cryptocurrency sector, Circle, the company behind USDC stablecoin, has priced its IPO at $31 per share. The upsized offering raised $1.1 billion, giving the company a $6.9 billion valuation based on outstanding shares. When including options and warrants, the fully diluted valuation reaches $8.1 billion.

Strong Investor Demand Drives Upsized Offering

The company and selling shareholders sold 34 million shares, exceeding the initial plan of 32 million. Investor enthusiasm pushed the price range up to $27-$28 earlier this week before settling at the final $31 price late Wednesday.

USDC's Market Position and New Payment Network

Circle's USDC currently represents 24.5% of the stablecoin market with $61.5 billion in circulation, according to CoinGecko. The company recently launched the Circle Payments Network (CPN), an infrastructure platform designed to modernize cross-border payments. CPN enables banks and financial institutions to transfer funds instantly using fully reserved digital dollars (USDC) and euros (EURC).

Regulatory Landscape and Institutional Interest

The IPO comes as Congress moves forward with stablecoin regulation, expected to pass in August. Circle, which obtained its New York BitLicense in 2015, is recognized as a compliance leader in the industry.

Institutional investors have shown strong interest, with BlackRock - which manages USDC's $53.3 billion reserve fund - expected to acquire 10% of the IPO shares. ARK Invest has also indicated plans to purchase up to $150 million in shares.

This successful public offering represents a significant step forward for both Circle and the cryptocurrency industry, demonstrating growing institutional adoption and regulatory recognition of stablecoin technology.