Circle, the firm behind the USDC stablecoin, potentially has plans to become a publicly listed company early next year.
According to a Tuesday report from Bloomberg, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, Circle is in talks with advisers to prepare for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in early 2024. The people noted that the deliberations were still ongoing, and there was no certainty that the company would proceed with a public listing.
“Becoming a U.S.-listed public company has long been part of Circle’s strategic aspirations. We don’t comment on rumors,” a Circle spokesperson wrote in emailed comments to Bloomberg.
Although the company’s valuation prospects were not disclosed by the sources, it is likely it will be around the $9 billion mark – the value ascribed to the firm when it planned to go public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deal in 2022.
This deal with Concord Acquisition Corp was abandoned last December, with Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire tweeting at the time that it was “disappointing” to not complete the SEC qualification on time.
2/ From my perspective, I believe that the SEC has been rigorous and thorough in understanding our business and many novel aspects of this industry. This kind of review is necessary to ultimately provide trust, transparency and accountability for major companies in crypto.
— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) December 5, 2022
Some of Circle’s most prominent backers include BlackRock and Fidelity, who participated in a $400 million funding round in April 2022.
Crypto exchange Coinbase also took an equity stake in the firm earlier this year, as part of an expanded partnership that sees the two companies sharing revenue generated from USDC reserves’ interest income. In its latest earnings report, Coinbase disclosed that income earned under this arrangement with Circle amounted to $172 million.
