Stablecoin bigwig Circle soars in debut on the New York Stock Exchange
[June 06, 2025] By
ALAN SUDERMAN
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.
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.”
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 dominant player in the stablecoin field is El Salvador-based Tether,
which has the stablecoin known as USDT that currently has about $150
billion in circulation. USDC is the second most popular stablecoin
market cap, with about $60 billion in circulation.
Circle said in a regulatory filing that USDC has been used for more than
“$25 trillion in onchain transactions” since its launch in 2018.
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Jeremy Allaire, second from right, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of
Circle, rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell, Thursday,
June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 Revenue-wise the company has seen
tremendous growth, going from just $15 million in 2020 to $1.7
billion in 2024.
Stablecoin issuers make profits by collecting the interest on the
assets they hold in reserve to back their stablecoins. Circle said
USDC is backed by “cash, short-dated US Treasuries and overnight US
Treasury repurchase agreements with leading global banks.”
Circle’s IPO comes amid a push by the Trump administration and the
crypto industry to pass legislation that would regulate how
stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S. A Senate bill advanced last
month with bipartisan support.
There is also growing competition in the stablecoin field. A crypto
enterprise partly owned by the Trump family just launched its own
stablecoin, USD1.
Circle said its long track record and values – the company says its
mission statement is “to raise global economic prosperity through
the frictionless exchange of value” – will help it stand apart in
the field.
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