Targeting IDR 65 Trillion Additional Funds, Circle Goes Public Immediately
JAKARTA - Circle has announced their plans to become a public company in the US. The cryptocurrency company will merge with Concord Acquisition Corp, a SPAC company. Circle is better known as one of the founding members of the Center's consortium with Coinbase. Together with other crypto partners, they have issued USD Coin (USDC), a stable coin popular in the US.
SPAC is a publicly-traded blank check company. Joining SPAC has become a common way for technology companies to go public.
According to Circle, the deal should have valued the company at USD 4.5 billion. Investors involved in the merger have committed USD 415 million (IDR 6 trillion) in PIPE financing. The company also recently raised capital of USD 440 million (IDR 6.4 trillion). Circle will have a lot of capital if the merger is successful.
“We never thought of ourselves as a bitcoin startup. The media must have classified us that way because we were involved with technology. Since we founded the company three years ago, we've focused on trying to build a new consumer finance company, and one that makes money the way the internet works", Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire told TechCrunch's Natasha Lomas in 2016.
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It's interesting to see that Allaire is now thinking about being able to transfer money programmatically. In 2017 and 2018, the company pivoted once again to focus on virtual cryptocurrencies. They launched an over-the-counter trading desk for major cryptocurrency investors.
They acquired Poloniex, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the US at the time. They also launched Circle Invest, a very simple mobile app that lets you buy and sell multiple crypto assets.
But Circle's most promising product is their stable coin — USD Coin, or USDC for short. As the name suggests, 1 USDC is always worth 1 US dollar. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, you can rest assured that the value of USDC will not fluctuate like “crazy”. Audit firms regularly check that issuers always keep as much US dollar in their bank accounts as USDC in circulation.
There are currently USD 25 billion USDC in circulation and the company believes there will be USD 190 billion USDC in circulation by the end of 2023. Circle plans to leverage the popularity of USDC to build financial services that leverage USDC.