Stablecoin firm Circle has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This marks a significant shift for the company, which is making another attempt to go public after terminating a prior deal a year ago. The company announced its move through a press statement, revealing that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC.
However, key details about the IPO are yet to be decided. The company has not finalized the number of shares to be offered in the public offering, and a specific price bracket for the shares is also pending determination. The SEC will undertake a thorough review of the application, with the subsequent IPO contingent on market conditions and regulatory approval. Circle, founded in 2013, is known as the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin globally, which has a market capitalization of more than $25.2 billion.
This move comes a year after Circle terminated its prior plan to go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) with Concord Acquisition Corp. The initial deal, which would have valued Circle at around $9 billion, fell through in the wake of the SPAC market collapse in 2022, following the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX. The timing of Circle’s IPO resurgence aligns with a broader surge in the cryptocurrency sector. Coinbase, which acquired a stake in Circle in August, experienced a remarkable 400% surge in value in 2023. Other crypto-related stocks, including MicroStrategy and Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital, also enjoyed substantial rallies during the same period.
Despite the overall tech IPO market remaining subdued for two years following a record year in 2021, the cryptocurrency shares bucked the trend. In December, Apex Fintech, a clearing firm, discreetly submitted its filing for a U.S. IPO. Additionally, Aspen Insurance, under the ownership of Apollo, has expressed consideration of a potential public offering in the year 2024. This resilience was driven by a 150% surge in the price of Bitcoin. The approval of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds by the SEC is expected to catalyze the digital asset market further, attracting both retail and institutional investors.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | None |
| Companies | Circle Internet Financial, Marathon Digital, Coinbase, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apex Fintech, Apollo, Aspen Insurance, Concord Acquisition Corp, MicroStrategy |
| Currencies | Bitcoin, US Dollar, Unidef |
| Securities | Circle Internet Financial, Marathon Digital, Coinbase, Aspen Insurance, MicroStrategy |
