Circle stock (CRCL) surged more than 190% on Thursday during its highly anticipated market debut, with shares soaring as much as 200% in afternoon trading. The stablecoin issuer’s IPO launch sparked a frenzy of investor activity, leading to multiple trading halts throughout the day due to rapid price swings. Shares opened at roughly $69 apiece after Circle priced its IPO at $31 on Wednesday night.
By the time the stock hit session highs, Circle’s market capitalization had climbed above $20 billion.
At 2:52 PM EDT, Circle Internet Group (CRCL) was trading at $80.64, up $49.64 or 170.00%, according to Nasdaq real-time pricing.
Circle is the company behind USDC (USDC-USD), a dollar-backed stablecoin. As of the end of Q1, there was $60 billion worth of USDC in circulation.
In the first quarter of 2025, Circle generated $578.6 million in total revenue and reserve income—a 58.5% year-over-year increase. A significant portion of its earnings comes from “reserve income,” which refers to interest earned on USDC reserves held in banks or short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The company also reported adjusted EBITA of $122.4 million for the quarter.
Circle previously attempted to go public in 2021 via a SPAC merger but ultimately scrapped those plans the following year.
Now the second-largest stablecoin issuer globally, Circle trails only Tether (USDT-USD), which currently has about $150 billion in circulation.
Circle’s IPO arrives at a time of renewed enthusiasm for digital assets, with the broader crypto sector gaining momentum. Bitcoin recently hit record highs above $110,000, buoyed in part by former President Trump’s election win and his family’s growing involvement in the crypto space.
The company, led by CEO Jeremy Allaire, said Thursday in a filing that it plans to sell 24 million shares of Class A common stock in total – 9.6 million to be sold by the company and another another 14.4 million by existing shareholders – at an expected price range of $24 to $26 apiece, valuing the company at around $5.65 billion. It would have a valuation of about $6.7 billion when including outstanding options and other stock, according to Reuters.
Per the filing, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management has indicated interest in purchasing up to $150 million of the shares.
The public markets have also seen a growing trend of companies increasing exposure to cryptocurrencies or emulating the bitcoin-focused treasury strategy popularized by Michael Saylor at MicroStrategy (MSTR).
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