Circle Internet Group, the crypto firm that tried to go public in 2021 but ended up pulling its deal, will finally enter the public equities market. Late Wednesday, Circle raised $1.05 billion in one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year.
Circle again increased the size of its deal Wednesday and priced above its marketed range when it sold 34 million shares at $31 each. Earlier this week, the company boosted its offering to 32 million shares at $27 to $28 each, up from its original terms of 24 million shares at $24 to $26. Circle will trade Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “CRCL.”
At $31, Circle is valued at $8.06 billion, based on $6.9 billion worth of outstanding shares plus the value of outstanding employee stock options, restricted share units and warrants. Circle’s prospectus lists 15 investment banks working on the IPO, with J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs serving as lead underwriters.
Circle is a leading U.S. crypto firm that issues the stablecoin USD Coin. In 2013, internet entrepreneur Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville co-founded Circle, but Neville stepped down as co-CEO in 2019, leaving Allaire as sole chief executive. Circle has raised $1.1 billion in funding from investors including BlackRock and Coinbase, according to Crunchbase.
The fintech is profitable. Circle reported $156 million in net income in fiscal 2024, down from $268 million net income for the prior year. On a quarterly basis, Circle posted a profit of $65 million for the three months ended March 31, up from $49 million in profit for the same time period in 2024.
According to the prospectus, Circle CEO Allaire is selling 1,582,160 shares and will have a 23.7% voting stake after the IPO is completed. At $31, Allaire stands to make $49 million.
