Circle Races Toward IPO — Can USDC Challenge Tether’s Throne?

The cryptocurrency industry has reached a milestone moment, as Circle, the world’s second-largest stablecoin issuer, officially embarks on the path to listing on the New York Stock Exchange, with a dual game of capital and compliance unfolding.

On May 28, 2025, Circle submitted its latest IPO filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), planning to issue 24 million Class A common shares at a price of $24 to $26 per share, aiming to raise up to $624 million in funding.

If calculated based on the upper limit of the price range, Circle’s fully diluted valuation will reach 6.7 billion USD, far exceeding the expected 5 billion USD in April.

The crypto giant supporting the stablecoin USDC with a market value of $60 billion will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock code CRCL. JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters for this issuance.

Twists and turns, Circle’s IPO marathon

The road to Circle’s listing can be described as bumpy. This is the company’s third attempt to hit the public market.

As early as 2021, Circle attempted to go public through a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) merger, with a valuation as high as $9 billion. However, due to stricter SEC scrutiny, the deal ultimately fell through at the end of 2022.

In 2018, Circle showed interest in the public market but encountered a crypto bear market, with a valuation drop of 75%, and the plan was shelved.

The key to the success of this IPO lies in the shift in the regulatory environment. The Trump administration has explicitly supported the development of cryptocurrencies, promising to make the United States a ‘global crypto hub’ and accelerating the advancement of stablecoin legislation.

The “GENIUS Act” has been passed by a vote in the Senate Banking Committee, requiring that stablecoin reserve assets be 100% backed by cash or cash equivalents, clearing the way for compliant companies like Circle.

The strategic layout behind the valuation of 6.7 billion USD

The latest disclosed IPO documents reveal Circle’s strategic moves: in January 2025, the company completed a full acquisition of the tokenized startup Hashnote for $99.8 million.

The transaction includes $9.9 million in cash and approximately 2.9 million shares of Circle common stock, highlighting its ambition to expand into the tokenized U.S. Treasury market.

Circle founders Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville will retain control of the company. Their Class B shares have five votes per share, ensuring they can still steer the company’s direction after going public.

Institutional investors are showing strong confidence. ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has committed to purchasing $150 million worth of Circle stock, becoming one of the largest anchor investments in this IPO.

Stablecoin wars, compliance advantages vs market size

As the issuer of USDC, Circle occupies a key position in the stablecoin market:

• Market value of 60 billion USD, the second largest USD stablecoin in the world.
• In May 2024, the trading volume reached 230.8 billion USD, demonstrating strong liquidity.
• Covering $25 trillion in on-chain transactions, becoming the core infrastructure of the DeFi ecosystem.

Its competitor Tether (USDT) still ranks first with a market value of 140 billion USD, but Circle’s compliance advantages are increasingly prominent.

With Tether The controversial transparency issues differ, as Circle regularly publishes reserve proofs audited by top accounting firms, has obtained money transmission licenses in multiple states in the United States, and has achieved regulatory breakthroughs in key markets such as Europe and Japan.

As the GENIUS Act progresses, Tether faces greater regulatory pressure, while Circle’s transparency strategy may become a key weapon in its battle for market share.

Profit model, the “printing press” of the digital age?

The business logic of stablecoins is quite ingenious: after users exchange their US dollars for USDC, Circle invests the funds in low-risk assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and money market funds to earn interest spreads.

During the high interest rate cycle from 2022 to 2024, U.S. Treasury yields briefly exceeded 5%, bringing substantial profits to stablecoin issuers.

In 2024, Circle achieved a revenue of $1.68 billion, an increase from $1.5 billion in 2023. However, net income decreased from $268 million in 2023 to $156 million.

In contrast, Tether’s profits reached as high as $13 billion in 2024, even surpassing the world’s largest asset management company, BlackRock. This highlights the importance of Circle expanding the scale of USDC to enhance profitability.

The wave of crypto IPOs, a signal for traditional capital to enter.

Circle’s IPO is a landmark event for cryptocurrency companies embracing traditional capital markets. Bitwise predicts that by 2025, there could be 5 cryptocurrency companies going public, including Kraken, Figure, Anchorage Digital, and Chainalysis.

This will become the largest cryptocurrency company IPO since Coinbase went public in 2021.

The partnership between Coinbase and Circle provides the latter with unique advantages. In 2018, the two companies jointly launched USDC, with Coinbase not only holding equity in Circle but also actively promoting the application of USDC through its platform.

With the recent successful IPOs of cryptocurrency companies like Galaxy Digital, the demand for traditional capital allocation in the blockchain sector is accelerating its release through the IPO channel.

The bell in the New York Stock Exchange trading hall is about to ring for the CRCL code. Circle’s listing documents show that the company’s founders, Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, will maintain control of the company by holding Class B super-voting shares.

At the same time, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has pledged to purchase $150 million worth of shares, becoming the largest anchor investor in this issuance.

After a successful listing, Circle will become the largest cryptocurrency company to enter the U.S. mainboard market since Coinbase in 2021. Its performance will test the level of traditional capital’s recognition of the stablecoin business model and influence the listing decisions of crypto companies like Kraken and Figure.

The second half of the stablecoin war will change the competitive landscape with the resupply of ammunition in the capital market.