Circle Internet Group, the cryptocurrency issuer behind the USDC stablecoin, raised $1.1 billion by offering 34 million shares (56% secondary) at $31, above the upwardly revised $27 to $28 range. It sold 2 million more primary shares than previously anticipated.
The New York, NY-based company had originally planned to raise $600 million by offering 24 million shares (60% secondary) at $24 to $26, before it increased its offering terms on Monday. New investor ARK Investment Management had indicated on $150 million of the IPO (14% of the deal).
Circle states that it is aiming to help create a new internet financial system through the use of blockchain networks, which can address inefficiencies in the traditional financial system. The company offers stablecoins, such as USDC and EURC, which are digital currencies backed by reserves of US Treasuries and cash equivalents (approximately 85% of USDC reserves held in a government money market fund managed by BlackRock). As of March 31, 2025, USDC had $60.1 billion in circulation across 4.9 million wallets. Circle aims to partner with financial institutions and technology firms to facilitate the use of stablecoins in various applications. The company highlights its "regulation-first" philosophy, one way it seeks to differentiate itself from El Salvador-based stablecoin competitor Tether.
Circle is the largest VC-backed IPO since December 2021 (we exclude CoreWeave, which had minimal VC backing). Last month, another VC-backed fintech with a crypto angle, eToro (ETOR), IPO'd on the Nasdaq; it popped 28.8% on its first day.
Circle Internet Group plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol CRCL. J.P. Morgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Societe Generale acted as joint bookrunners on the deal.
