In brief
- Circle stock closed at $83.23, up 168% from its $31 IPO price, after multiple trading halts due to volatility.
- The company raised $1.1 billion by listing 34 million shares under the ticker CRCL on the NYSE.
- Circle ended the day with a market cap of $18.4 billion, below Coinbase’s $85 billion debut but above eToro and Fold.
Circle stock surged Thursday as the stablecoin issuer began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, marking one of the strongest debuts by a crypto-native firm in recent memory.
The offering raised nearly $1.1 billion, giving Circle a closing market capitalization of $18.4 billion, positioning it behind sector giants but ahead of smaller entrants.
Trading under the ticker CRCL, Circle listed 34 million shares and quickly attracted investor demand. The stock opened at $69 and peaked at $103.75 intraday, with trading halted multiple times during the session due to volatility.
Its stock closed at $83.23, representing a 168% leap from its IPO price of $31 per share.
“With the IPO market open for business in the US, this will have an important trickle-down effect on the entire crypto M&A and financing market," Casper Johansen, partner and co-founder of the Spartan Group, told Decrypt. "IPOs release liquidity for early investors. This liquidity gets put back into the system via new investments and VCs raising new funds. It also gives the newly listed companies firepower to pursue M&A transactions as they now can pay both with cash and their shares."
That, in turn, gives VCs and investors "more confidence in financing companies" as there is a path to liquidity through IPOs and M&A, Johansen added. "And this trickles all the way down to the early-stage investments too."
Bitcoin, Solana and Dogecoin Plunge as Circle Stock Surges After IPO
Bitcoin and major altcoins tumbled late Thursday as concerns about the the re-escalating trade war, slowing U.S. economic indicators, and a brewing feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk trumped euphoria over Circle's smash debut as a publicly traded company. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently trading at about $100,825, down nearly 4% during the past 24 hours, according to crypto market data provider CoinGecko. Bitcoin, which last sank be...
Circle's debut comes as a growing number of crypto companies eye initial public offerings, a trend that has gained traction amid the U.S.’ pro-crypto pivot under U.S. President Donald Trump.
The stablecoin giant’s strong first-day performance stands in contrast to several high-profile listings in the sector, though its valuation reflects a more tempered investor outlook.
Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, went public via direct listing in April 2021 with an $85 billion valuation. Shares gained 31% on debut before pulling back, and the stock has since been closely tied to broader crypto market cycles.
Circle's USDC Likely to Remain DeFi's Go-To Stablecoin: Compass Point
Stablecoin legislation may unlock a slew of new competitors for Circle and its USDC stablecoin in the U.S., but in the realm of decentralized finance, or DeFi, a serious rival is unlikely to emerge anytime soon, according to analysts at investment bank Compass Point. Although Tether’s USDT is king in emerging markets, Circle’s USDC stablecoin has a dominant presence across the crypto industry’s growing number of decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, and other DeFi settings, analyst Ed Enge...
Robinhood began offering crypto trading in 2018 and went public in 2021 at a $29 billion valuation. While crypto contributed to its growth story, the company remained primarily a stock and options platform, unlike crypto-native firms such as Circle or Coinbase.
Multi-asset brokerage platform eToro went public via a SPAC in 2023 at a valuation of around $5 billion, and Bitcoin rewards app Fold completed a SPAC merger in February 2025, valuing the company at approximately $224 million. Circle's $18.4 billion valuation places it at the lower end of that range.
First-day stock performance, however, tells a different story.
Circle’s 168% gain was the strongest among recent crypto listings. Fold rose roughly 30% on debut, while Coinbase rose 31%, and eToro rose just 4%. Robinhood, meanwhile, fell more than 8% on its first day.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
Editor's note: Adds comments from The Spartan Group CEO
