Circle (CRCL) Shares Skyrocket as Circle Makes Spectacular NYSE Debut

TLDR

Table of Contents

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock jumped nearly 170% on its first trading day, closing at $83.23 from an IPO price of $31
Shares rose another 14% in Friday premarket trading to $94.38, showing continued investor demand
The company raised nearly $1.1 billion from selling 34 million shares on the NYSE under ticker CRCL
Circle is the second-largest stablecoin issuer, controlling USDC with $61.5 billion in circulation
Revenue grew 58.5% year-over-year to $578.6 million in Q1, driven by interest income on cash reserves

Circle Internet Group made a spectacular entrance to Wall Street Thursday. The stablecoin company’s shares closed up 168% at $83.23 after pricing at $31 per share.

The stock opened at $69 and quickly shot to $103.75 before settling back. Trading was halted three times due to extreme volatility.

Circle listed 34 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker CRCL. The company raised nearly $1.1 billion from the offering.

I am incredibly proud and thrilled to share that @circle is now a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under $CRCL!
12 years ago we set out to build a company that could help remake the global economic system by re-imagining and re-building it from the ground up… pic.twitter.com/okcH0ys6Tc
— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) June 5, 2025

Friday brought more gains. Shares jumped 14% to $94.38 in premarket trading before the opening bell.

At Thursday’s closing price, Circle has a market cap of about $18.4 billion. Including options and warrants, the valuation reaches $21.4 billion.

Circle CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen called it “a tremendous moment for Circle” but noted it’s still early days for the company’s mission. He said they’re focused on building new money technologies.

The IPO was massively oversubscribed according to Wall Street traders. Demand far exceeded the available shares.

Circle had to raise its price range twice before going public. The company started with $24-$26 per share, then moved to $27-$28, before settling on $31.

Strong Financial Performance Drives Interest

Circle is profitable with steady revenue growth. The company made $578.6 million in revenue during Q1, up 58.5% from last year.

Most revenue comes from “reserve income.” This is interest earned on cash backing USDC held in banks or Treasury bills.

Circle’s adjusted EBITDA hit $122.4 million in the first quarter. The company has shown consistent financial improvement over recent periods.

Circle issues USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. USDC maintains a price around $1, making it stable compared to other cryptocurrencies.

There was $60 billion worth of USDC in circulation at the end of Q1. This makes Circle the second-largest stablecoin issuer globally.

Market Position and Competition

Circle trails competitor Tether in market share. Tether’s USDT has $153.8 billion in circulation compared to Circle’s $61.5 billion.

USDC holds about 28% of the stablecoin market currently. Analyst Jacob Zuller from Third Bridge thinks this could grow to 40%.

Both stablecoins are much smaller than Bitcoin’s $2.1 trillion market value. But the stablecoin market has grown rapidly this year.

Bitcoin has surged over 35% since April 7. The crypto rally followed President Trump’s Liberation Day announcement.

Other crypto stocks have also performed well recently. Coinbase Global and Robinhood Markets have rallied over the past two months.

Circle attempted to go public via SPAC in 2021 but called off those plans a year later. The traditional IPO route proved more successful.

The company is led by veteran tech entrepreneur Jeremy Allaire. Circle is based in New York City.

Regulatory changes have helped the crypto sector. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has embraced digital currencies, unlike his predecessor Gary Gensler.

A proposed Congressional bill called the GENIUS Act could boost Circle further. The legislation would regulate stablecoins more clearly.

Zuller believes regulatory clarity would help Circle catch up to Tether. He notes that some regulatory uncertainty remains but clarity is emerging.

Circle’s successful debut could open doors for more crypto IPOs. The strong investor demand shows appetite for crypto-related public companies remains high.

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