Circle’s big hit IPO is a paving method for other crypto public lists
Hannah Lang and Suzanne McGee
(Reuters) – Stablecoin Issuer Circle’s $1.05 billion initial public offering on Thursday could encourage other large crypto players to follow suit as they benefit from the embrace of US President Donald Trump’s sector.
Circle priced its shares at $31 on Wednesday. Amid signs of investor demand, they opened on the New York Stock Exchange for $69 on Thursday for $69 and closed at $83.23.
That trajectory could encourage other crypto companies to aim for stock market debuts. Circle is the first major crypto company to be published since Crypto Exchange Coinbase, listed on Nasdaq in 2021.
Analysts point to encrypt Kraken and Gemini as other potential IPO candidates in the digital assets sector. Neither company responded to requests for comment immediately.
“It’s not surprising that other crypto companies follow suit,” said Jacob Zurler, analyst at Third Bridge. “The public markets are accepting that the crypto is not gone.”
Circle issues a Stablecoin USDC. This is a cryptocurrency that is pinned in the US dollar and designed to maintain a constant value. Crypto Traders uses Stablecoins to move funds between tokens, and advocates say they can be used to send and receive payments instantly.
“We have a deep confidence from the start of the company that we can build new infrastructure built on the Internet.
The success of Circle’s IPO shows that there is a thriving demand in the open market for Crypto and other financial technology companies, said Dan Dolev, senior analyst at Mizuho.
“If IPOS gets wild, it’s a good pioneer,” he said.
Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group, went a step further and called Circle’s IPOs a general positive indication of IPOs as well as a crypto list.
“We consider Circle IPOs to be a pioneer in the IPO market this year, not just the crypto list,” she said.
Fintech companies have been warmly accepted over the past few months. Retail brokerage shares skyrocketed 34% in their NASDAQ debut in May. Digital banking startup Chime is seeking a valuation of over $11 billion when it launches next week.
Sui Chung, CEO of Crypto Index Provider CF Benchmarks, said interest in investments on digital assets “is coming from every corner.”
“There are a lot of investment funds focused on tech and blockchain, and these vehicles have been hungry for new issues for a long time,” Chong said.