Stablecoin bigwig Circle set to make its debut on the New York Stock Exchange
Jun 5, 2025, 5:44 AM | Updated: 9:00 am
Trader Fred Demarco works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Crypto enthusiasts will be watching the stock market Thursday as the U.S.-based issuer of one of most popular cryptocurrencies makes its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
Circle Internet Group issues USDC, a stablecoin that can be traded at a one-to-one ratio for U.S. dollars, and EURC, which can similarly be traded for euros.
Stablecoins are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that offer a buffer against volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. That makes them a much more reliable means of conducting commercial transactions than other forms of crypto.
Interest in Circle鈥檚 initial public offering is high. The company鈥檚 underwriters priced the offering at $31 per share Wednesday, up from an expected price of $27 to $28. The number of shares being sold was raised to 34 million from 32 million. Circle will trade on the NYSE under the symbol 鈥淐RCL.鈥�
The dominant player in the stablecoin field is El Salvador-based Tether, which has the stablecoin known as USDT that currently has about $150 billion in circulation. USDC is the second most popular stablecoin market cap, with about $60 billion in circulation.
Circle said in a regulatory filing that USDC has been used for more than 鈥�$25 trillion in onchain transactions鈥� since its launch in 2018.
Revenue-wise the company has seen tremendous growth, going from just $15 million in 2020 to $1.7 billion in 2024.
Stablecoin issuers make profits by collecting the interest on the assets they hold in reserve to back their stablecoins. Circle said USDC is backed by 鈥渃ash, short-dated US Treasuries and overnight US Treasury repurchase agreements with leading global banks.鈥�
Circle鈥檚 IPO comes amid a push by the Trump administration and the crypto industry to pass legislation that would regulate how stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S. A Senate bill advanced last month with bipartisan support.
There is also growing competition in the stablecoin field. A crypto enterprise partly owned by the Trump family just launched its own stablecoin, USD1.
Circle said its long track record and values 鈥� the company says its mission statement is 鈥渢o raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value鈥� 鈥� will help it stand apart in the field.
