Following In Coinbase's Footsteps, USDC Circle Stablecoin Publisher Will IPO This Year

Circle will go public in the near future. (Photo; Doc. BitcoinWorld)

USDC stablecoin publishing company Circle Internet Financial plans to take the floor on the stock exchange through an initial public offering (IPO). The company has submitted a secret S-1 form to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in preparation for the IPO.

Circle's decision was announced in a press release on Thursday January 13, 2024, just a day after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 Bitcoin ETF proposals. Circle said it would go public after the SEC completed the review process taking into account market conditions and other factors.

Circle was founded in October 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, with a vision to create a more inclusive and open global economy using blockchain and crypto technology. The company is a USDC issuer, stablecoin whose value is tied to US dollars.

Follow in Coinbase's footsteps

To date, USDC has become the second largest stablecoin in the world, with a market cap of 25.2 billion US dollars (Rp 392.6 trillion). In the past month, USDC's supply has increased 4.7%. Circle has ambitions to become a public company listed on the stock exchange.

Since its establishment, Circle has raised funding of $950 million from leading investors, such as Fidelity, Marshall Wace LLP, and Blackrock. In 2021, Circle is close to achieving its goal through a special acquisition company transaction (SPAC), backed by Bob Diamond of Barclays Capital, with a valuation of around $4.5 billion. However, the transaction ultimately failed to materialize.

With the IPO plan, Circle follows in the footsteps of crypto exchange Coinbase which has been listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange on April 14, 2021. Coinbase is one of Circle's partners in developing USDC, through the consortium Center. Both hope that USDC can become a global standard for stablecoins that obey crypto regulations.