Circle Shares Explode 234% in Under 30 Minutes—Trading Halts Triggered Repeatedly
Chaos erupted in financial markets as Circle's stock went parabolic—gaining a jaw-dropping 234% before most traders could finish their morning coffee. Exchanges slammed the brakes multiple times to contain the frenzy.
What sparked the surge? Speculation ran wild, but one thing's clear: the algo-trading wolves smelled blood in the water. Meanwhile, retail investors were left scrambling—as usual—to catch the tail end of the move.
Another day, another reminder that 'price discovery' in modern markets just means figuring out how fast you can front-run the next guy. Circle's CFO declined to comment, but we're pretty sure they're busy counting their newly minted paper gains.
CRCL surpasses $70 billion in market cap
Bitwise senior investment strategist Juan Leonthat CRCL’s first-day returns rank second in the top 10 IPOs over the past year.
As of press time, CRCL was trading at $83.98, up over 150% from its initial market price.
Banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs priced the stock $3 above the final range of $27 to $28, set earlier in the week.
The initial trade at $31 implied a $21 billion market value based on listed shares and approximately $26 billion on a fully diluted basis, which includes options, restricted units, and warrants.
As a result, the $103.75 price briefly made CRCL’s market cap surpass $70 billion.
Signal for crypto projects
Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitzthat investment banks and CEOs are paying attention to the significant price increase in CRCL and saying “it’s go time.” He added:
Moonrock Capital CEO Simon DedicYanowitz’s comments, saying CRCL’s debut is a green light for crypto companies and builders, adding:
Artemis co-founder Jon MaCircle, calling the event “definitely a big IPO.” He also predicted that CRCL WOULD close the year at a price of nearly $99.
