Circle Goes Big: $1.05B NYSE IPO Shows Crypto’s Wall Street Ambitions

Stablecoin giant Circle isn’t dipping a toe in public markets—it’s diving headfirst. The upsized $1.05B IPO proves institutional FOMO is alive and well, even after crypto’s wildest crashes.

What’s driving the demand? A bet that dollar-pegged tokens will become the plumbing of finance—or just desperate diversification from traditional assets tanking under inflation? Either way, Wall Street’s playing along.

Watch for two things: how regulators react (with glee or suspicion), and whether retail investors get burned when the ‘stable’ in stablecoin gets tested. Again.

Circle Sees Strong Fundamentals as USDC Use Grows Across Payments and Trading

Circle’s debut comes as investor appetite for crypto-adjacent stocks shows renewed strength, following a year in which the company generated $1.68b in revenue and reserve income.

While net income fell to $156m from $268m the year before, the firm’s fundamentals remain strong, bolstered by the growing use of USDC in digital payments and crypto trading.

USDC is the second-largest stablecoin globally, with more than $61b in circulation as of May 29. It currently accounts for about 29% of the stablecoin market, according to CoinMarketCap.

Circle also issues a euro-backed stablecoin, EURC, and provides infrastructure and payment tools to businesses integrating digital currencies.

Circle Secures BlackRock, ARK Interest as IPO Marks Shift in Digital Asset Adoption

Major investors signaled confidence in the offering. ARK Invest showed interest in purchasing up to $150m in shares, while BlackRock is expected to acquire roughly 10% of the IPO allocation. BlackRock also manages the Circle Reserve Fund, a government money market fund holding 90% of USDC’s reserves, valued at $53.3b as of this week.

BlackRock is reportedly planning to purchase around 10% of the shares offered in @Circle upcoming IPO according to a Bloomberg report.#USDC #Circle https://t.co/yabSKAOV47

The offering marks a significant step in Circle’s long-awaited journey to the public markets. The firm previously abandoned a SPAC merger in 2022 that WOULD have valued it at $9n. After confidentially refiling for a traditional IPO earlier this year, Circle has now succeeded in making one of the largest crypto-linked listings since Coinbase’s debut in 2021.

As regulatory clarity improves under President Donald Trump’s administration and institutional demand for digital assets accelerates, Circle’s IPO positions it at the intersection of crypto innovation and traditional finance. With Wall Street backing and a solid balance sheet, the firm enters the public markets under bright lights and high expectations.