From Web3 to Wall Street: Stablecoin Firm Circle Confidentially Files for U.S. IPO

Circle Internet Financial, the company behind stablecoin USDC, said on Thursday that it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering as part of plans to become a publicly-traded company.

Circle did not disclose the number of shares it plans to sell or the proposed price range for its new IPO filing. Based in Boston, Circle controls the issuance and governance of USDC, a cryptocy pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The IPO is expected to take place after the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions, the company said. The company had previously said it was valued at $9 billion, in a 2022 deal to go public via a special-purpose acquisition company.  It ended that deal in December 2022.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said at the time that he was disappointed that the proposed transaction “timed out,” but that the company still intended to go public. USDC is the second-biggest stablecoin, after Tether, and the seventh-biggest cryptocy overall, according to crypto market tracker CoinGecko.

The tokens are backed by cash and cash equivalents, including short-term Treasury bonds. There are around $25 billion worth of USDC tokens in circulation, down from a peak above $56 billion in mid-2022, according to CoinGecko.