Stablecoin Issuer Circle Mulls 2024 IPO: Report

<p dir="ltr">Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC, is planning to make another attempt to go public by early 2024, Bloomberg reported. Last year, the Boston-headquartered company attempted a public listing with a reverse merger deal but failed.</p><p dir="ltr">Circle’s Ambitions to Go Public</p><p dir="ltr">However, there has yet to be an official confirmation from Circle on the fresh attempt at public listing. A representative from Circle declined to comment “on rumors,” adding: “Becoming a U.S.-listed public company has long been part of Circle’s strategic aspirations.”</p><p dir="ltr">According to the media report, “people with knowledge of the matter” revealed that Circle is currently talking to advisers as it prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO). However, there is no certainty that the company will proceed with the public listing.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">this + circle considering a 2024 IPO coming after hours is kind of interesting maybe reading too much into it, but feels like increasingly friendly regulation + stablecoin bill developments happening behind closed doors <a href="https://t.co/zWjUDjtDPp">https://t.co/zWjUDjtDPp</a></p>— tolks (@_tolks) <a href="https://twitter.com/_tolks/status/1722028664664019389?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2023</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">The Issuer of Second-Largest Stablecoin</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/circle/">Circle</a> was established in 2013 and is the issuer of the second-largest USD-pegged stablecoin, USDC, with a market capitalization of about $24.5 billion. For the governance of USDC, initially, Circle and the crypto exchange Coinbase jointly managed Centre Consortium, which was shuttered last August. Coinbase now holds an <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/coinbase-takes-stake-in-usdc-issuer-circle-shuts-centre-consortium/">unknown amount of equity stake in Circle</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">In its previous attempt to go public, Circle partnered with Concord Acquisition Corp., a blank-check firm led by Bob Diamond, the former CEO at Barclays. Then, the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/circle-doubles-valuation-to-9b-with-new-reverse-merger-terms/">stablecoin issuer was valued at $9 billion</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">Last year, Circle also reportedly secured funding at a valuation of $7.7 billion. The funding round was participated by heavyweights like Goldman Sachs Group Inc., General Catalyst Partners, BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Management and Research LLC, and Marshall Wace LLP.</p><p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, Circle <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/svb-crisis-circle-escapes-usdc-depeg-with-regulatory-assurance/">risked de-pegging of USDC</a> earlier this year with the collapse of its banking partner, Silicon Valley Bank. The stablecoin issuer had a $3.3 billion exposure to the collapsed bank and was saved by the bailout package of the US government to save the customers, who were not covered under FIDC insurance.</p>

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.