Second Time’s a Charm: USD Coin Issuer Circle Rises Over 170% In Debut

Crypto’s most anticipated IPO of the year has finally come… full CircleCRCL

. After abandoning plans for a SPAC merger in 2021 and making the M&A rumor mill in recent weeks, the issuer of crypto’s second-largest stablecoin soared on its first day of trading. Pricing its shares at $31/sh, well above the $24-28/sh range of prices it had pitched in last week, Circle raised over $1B. But even the ‘top of the range’ wasn’t the top of investors’ ambitions.

• CRCL
  eventually opened at $69.50/sh, more than doubling from its offering price, as investors rushed into the first publicly traded stablecoin firm — intraday, it reached highs above $103/sh.
• The stunning start demonstrates investor appetite for crypto companies on Wall Street, where partner Coinbase ($COIN) has traded in sympathy with the more volatile digital markets.

Serious about stables: Circle’s arrival on Wall Street couldn’t be better timed, in part because it’s not just a ‘pure play crypto’ company. Instead, the USD Coin issuer is capitalizing on its leadership in stablecoins, which are garnering the attention of banks, fintechs, and commerce. Considered to be more approachable than volatile assets like BitcoinBTC

and EthereumETH

, interest in stables has been hitting a fever pitch. However, with all the new impending competition, it remains to be seen if Circle can live up to the excitement seen on its first day of trading.