Just In: USDC stablecoin issuer Circle confidentially files for IPO

• USDC issuer – Circle has confidentially filed for an initial public offering
• This is the second attempt of the stablecoin issuer to go public, with the first one falling through in 2022

The year seems to have kicked off with a bang for the cryptocurrency market. A day after the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, a major stablecoin issuer – Circle has filed for an IPO. According to Reuters, Circle has confirmed that it has confidently filed for an IPO, in line with its plan to become a publicly traded company.

Notably, the company has been planning on going public for quite some time. Reports of this coming to fruition in 2024 emerged towards the end of 2023. A then report by Bloomberg stated that the stablecoin issuer had managed to draw in Goldman Sachs, General Catalyst, and Blackrock as its backers.

The number of shares that would be sold, the price range, or the valuation for the new IPO filing still remain unclear. Nonetheless, if this IPO passes the SEC’s review, it will become the second major crypto player to launch an IPO. The first crypto firm to make headlines under the same subject was Coinbase, a leading American crypto exchange.

Is second time the charm for Circle?

Notably, this is not the first time Circle has attempted to go public. The company had made its first attempt in 2022 through a special-purpose acquisition company – Concord Acquisition Corp. The valuation of the firm then was at a whopping $9 billion. However, this plan fell through after the firms terminated merger plans. The CEO had stated that they were “disappointed the proposed transaction timed out.” Nonetheless, the plans to go public were still on the table.

However, much has changed for the stablecoin issuer since its 2022 filing. According to CoinMarketCap, USDC is the second-largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market and the seventh-largest coin in the entire crypto market. At press time, the stablecoin had a market cap of over $25 billion, with its circulating supply being in the same range.