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Circle, the company behind the market's second-largest stablecoin USDC, is reportedly mulling an initial public offering (IPO) for next year.
Sources close to the matter have indicated that Circle is in discussions with advisory entities regarding a public listing, as reported by Bloomberg.
“Becoming a US-listed public company has long been part of Circle’s strategic aspirations. We don’t comment on rumors," a Circle spokesperson told Decrypt via email.
Circle's USDC boasts a market capitalization of more than $24.4 billion, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency. The dollar-pegged token is purported to be backed by cash deposits, treasuries, and similar assets.
The financial metrics for the potential IPO remain undisclosed, but the firm's value was last estimated at $9 billion during a previous attempt to merge with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in 2022.
An IPO is a traditional process through which a private firm becomes publicly traded by selling its shares to investors, typically involving a series of regulatory steps, including filing with the SEC and underwriting by investment banks. In contrast, a SPAC deal, often called a "blank check" merger, is an expedited alternative where a company goes public by merging with an already listed shell company that has no operations of its own.
That 2022 attempt to go public, through a merger with Concord Acquisition Corp., ultimately fell through.
A Circle representative told Decrypt via email at that time “The merger could not be consummated before the expiration of the transaction agreement as the SEC has yet to declare the S4 registration statement ‘effective.’”
Circle has a notable roster of investors, including leading financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and Blackrock, underscoring its position in the financial industry.
Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Liam Kelly.