USDC Issuer Circle Halted on NYSE Debut as CRCL Triples IPO Price

USDC issuer Circle Internet Group began trading on the New York Stock Exchange and was almost immediately halted after its share price more than tripled its $31 IPO opening mark.

In less than an hour, CRCL has already been halted three times. Each time it was a LULD, or Limit Up-Limit Down pause, meaning that the price and trading volume were showing extreme volatility.

It's the same reason cited when GameStop, which trades on the Nasdaq under the GME ticker, was halted 9 times last year when investor excitement over the return of meme stock icon Roaring Kitty (aka Keith Gill) sent the share price soaring.

Circle has been trying to go public since 2021, but then called it off—and ultimately raised $1.1 billion in this week's rollout. In the days leading up to CRCL making its debut on the NYSE, there were rumors and then confirmation that its IPO round was oversubscribed.

"Our transformation into being a public company is a significant and powerful milestone," Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire wrote on X, "the world is ready to start upgrading and moving to the internet financial system."

At the time of writing, USDC, the company's flagship stablecoin, has a $61 billion market cap. Because stablecoins are created as they're bought and burned as they're redeemed, its market cap is often used as a proxy for the number of tokens in circulation.

"Circle's upsized IPO reflects deepening institutional belief that stablecoins like USDC will play a foundational role in modern finance and is commensurate with USDC's growth into a $64 billion behemoth," Unity Wallet COO James Toledano said in commentary shared with Decrypt.

He added that digital dollars, which offer faster settlement and programmability, have become very appealing to traditional firms looking to eke out an edge in global finance.

"The race is on between private issuers and central bank digital currencies, which are not at all popular both in practice and philosophy," he added. "But Circle's momentum shows that market-driven solutions are gaining serious traction."

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.

Edited by Andrew Hayward