Circle's IPO: the day a stablecoin company rose 168%
The issuer of USDC priced its shares at $31 in June 2025 and closed its first day at $83.23, the biggest debut of its size on record.
Kivorent News desk, published , 1 min read
This is a look back at an event from . We wrote it on November 11, 2026, from the sources listed at the end.
What to know
- Circle began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2025, under the ticker CRCL.
- It sold 34 million shares at $31, raising about $1.05 billion, after first planning to sell 24 million at $24 to $26.
- The stock opened at $69 and closed at $83.23, a 168% first-day gain.
Circle Internet Group issues USDC, a digital token designed to stay worth one US dollar. On June 5, 2025, it became a public company, and the first day of trading showed how much demand there was for a way to invest in stablecoins through an ordinary stock.
The numbers
| Planned sale | 24 million shares at $24 to $26 |
| Actual sale | 34 million shares at $31 |
| Money raised | About $1.05 billion |
| First trade | $69 |
| First-day close | $83.23 |
| First-day gain | 168% |
Renaissance Capital, which tracks IPOs, called it the largest first-day gain for a billion-dollar US IPO in its more than 30 years of records. Deals of that size had averaged a first-day return of about 16%.
At the close, the company was valued at about $21.5 billion, compared with $7.9 billion at the IPO price. Three years earlier, a plan to go public through a merger had valued it at $9 billion before being abandoned.
Why investors wanted in
Stablecoins are the part of the crypto market that functions most like ordinary finance. A company such as Circle takes in dollars, issues tokens and earns interest on the reserves. USDC in circulation had reached about $60 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Before this listing there were few ways to buy a pure crypto business on a US exchange. Coinbase was the main one.
What a first-day pop means
A large jump on day one looks like a triumph. It also means the company sold its shares for far less than buyers were willing to pay. At $83.23, the same 34 million shares would have been worth about $1.8 billion more than they raised.
For how opening prices form when buyers outnumber sellers, see how an order book works.
This article is general information. It is not investment advice, and trading involves the risk of losing money.
Sources
- Circle skyrockets 168% in largest-ever pop for a billion-dollar IPO, Renaissance Capital
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