What You Need to Know About Tether's Competitor
Circle, the issuer of the world's second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDC, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), RBC Crypto reports.
The IPO will sell 24 million Class A shares, with 9.6 million shares issued by the company itself and 14.4 million shares offered for sale by current investors. The offering price range is set at $24–$26 per share. Once listed, Circle will trade under the ticker symbol CRCL, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
USDC is the second most valuable stablecoin after Tether's USDT. The asset is tied to the US dollar, with the total market capitalization of USDC tokens being $61.5 billion as of May 28. The token's share of the stablecoin market is approximately 25%.
The company was founded in 2013. Early investors included companies such as Goldman Sachs, the oldest crypto fund Pantera Capital, and Baidu. More recent investors include large management companies BlackRock and Fidelity. From 2013 to 2022, Circle has attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments, according to Cryptorank.
The business model of most stablecoins, including USDC and USDT, is to purchase US government bonds as collateral for issuing tokens. Issuers earn interest income while being able to access liquidity at any time if stablecoin holders demand redemption of the issued crypto assets.
Based on a total of 217.3 million shares outstanding and an average offering price of $25 per share, Circle seeks a valuation of approximately $5.43 billion. Circle will receive approximately $240 million in proceeds from the IPO, with selling shareholders receiving $360 million.
Circle had been planning an IPO since at least 2020, abandoning plans to list via a SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition in 2022. It wasn't until 2024 that the topic began to be discussed.
A SPAC (a special purpose acquisition company) is a company created specifically to merge with another private company that wants to go public without going through an IPO. A SPAC has no assets, no history, no business plan—it’s basically a shell company.
Circle filed to list on the NYSE in April. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that Circle was considering delaying its IPO due to macroeconomic uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy.
“For Circle, going public on the New York Stock Exchange is a continuation of our commitment to operating with the greatest possible transparency and accountability,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire was quoted as saying by The Block.
The company has since become a target for a potential takeover. Last week, Fortune reported that Circle was considering a $5 billion sale instead of an IPO. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) and Ripple were also reported to be among the suitors.
US-based Coinbase looked like the most likely buyer, according to Fortune's sources. The exchange earns up to 100% of the revenue from USDC reserves held on its platform and also owns a stake in Circle. However, the company has veto power over new Circle partnerships that affect USDC revenue. But Circle representatives have denied any sale talks.
The SEC filing also shows the purchase of Hashnote, which took place in January 2025 and was paid for primarily with Circle shares. Hashnote is the issuer of tokenized government bonds, US Yield Coin (USYC). On Rwa.xyz, an analytical service that tracks the real-world asset (RWA) market, Circle is listed as the issuer of USYC, with a volume of $416 million.
Real world assets (RWA) are a sector of the crypto economy where any “real” assets that have value can be tokenized. This category includes, for example, real estate, securities, national currencies, or even art.
The eToro Way
A similar path was taken by cryptocurrency trading company eToro, which went public in mid-May 2025. During the IPO, eToro (ETOR) and its shareholders raised nearly $620 million, which is comparable to Circle's plans.
Like Circle, eToro had planned to go public via a SPAC in 2022, and postponed plans for an IPO in April due to unfavorable market conditions after US President Donald Trump announced new import tariffs.
This year, the Trump sons' mining company American Bitcoin, created with the participation of the major mining company Hut 8, also announced plans for an IPO. It also became known that American Bitcoin is collaborating with China's Bitmain, the largest manufacturer of mining equipment. The company expects to “deploy a new generation of machines at scale.” Before the launch of American Bitcoin, mining was one of the cryptocurrency areas in which the Trump family had not publicly participated.
Источник: cryptocurrency.tech
