Some investors were skeptical when Circle, which issues the world’s second-largest stablecoin, prepared for an IPO. They worried about sustainability of the company’s valuation, which was widely discussed in the financial press at that time.
It looks that such worries were also shared by Circle’s underwriters and key investors, as the IPO valuation turned out to be quite conservative. Circle was valued at $6.9 billion, while the last private funding round back in 2021 valued the company at $7.7 billion.
The situation changed dramatically when Circle (CRCL) shares began trading on the NYSE. Starting at an initial price of $31 per share, CRCL quickly surpassed the $100 mark and tested the $138 level. The stock has already pulled back from recent highs, but this pullback was not too strong compared to the magnitude of the rally.
Sure, stocks are usually volatile right after the IPO. However, such a strong rally of Circle shares highlights investors’ appetite for stablecoins and crypto in general.
At this point, the stablecoin market is basically an oligopoly with two key players: USDT ($155 billion market cap) and USDC ($62 billion market cap). While USDT has been growing steadily over the years, USDC was hit hard by the crypto-related U.S. regional bank crisis in 2023. In fact, USDC market cap surpassed the 2022 highs in April 2025, just before the IPO.
Financial markets are forward-looking, so both IPO investors and those buying CRCL on NYSE bet that the stablecoin market will continue to grow at a robust pace after the U.S. passes stablecoin-related legislation. USDC is considered the main beneficiary of the upcoming regulatory changes as Circle keeps all of its assets in the U.S., in contrast to its main competitor Tether.
The scale of the IPO and its success with investors was impressive. Tesla, Nvidia, and Palantir were the only stocks with a bigger trading volume on the Interactive Brokers trading platform on the week of Circle’s IPO.
The IPO highlighted the strength of demand for crypto. Most likely, crypto companies will rush to public markets to capitalize on Circle’s success and raise money for their projects. Underwriters have surely started pitching their offers to potential clients from the crypto world.
Taking a look at crypto markets in general, the upcoming IPO activity will lead to additional flows of money into the space. This money will contribute to further growth of crypto projects, and, therefore, the price of their tokens.
Bitcoin, which is the flagship asset of the crypto universe, is already trading close to its historic highs. The strong success of Circle’s IPO may serve as an additional bullish catalyst that may push BTC to new highs.