USDC Stablecoin Provider Goes Public In $4.5 Billion Deal

Circle, the company behind USDC, has announced that it will soon become a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in a historic day for crypto and stablecoins.

Details of the Deal

Circle co-founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire made the announcement on the company’s website and outlined the mechanics and underlying rationale of the transaction.

Allaire noted that the move would be accomplished through a combination with Concord Acquisition Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The transaction puts Circle’s enterprise value at US$4.5 billion, and once closed Circle expects to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “CRCL”.

Circle now looks set to become only the second US crypto company to go public after Coinbase’s direct listing earlier this year. 

Growth in Stablecoins

In May, Crypto News Australia reported that the stablecoin market had grown to over US$100 billion. USDC, with a circulating supply of 26 billion, is the second-largest stablecoin behind Tether (USDT), although it is growing much faster.

According to Circle, USDC has now settled $785 billion in on-chain transactions to date and is widely used by various crypto exchanges, fintech clients, and DeFi users worldwide.

Despite their growth, some regulators view stablecoins as a threat to their central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects. Many remain confused about the difference between the two and whether they are able to co-exist or not. For now, those questions remain largely unanswered.