Circle’s first day of trading was impressive, providing substantial returns to multiple rounds of investors.

Recently, stablecoin giant Circle officially landed on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming another important player to appear in the traditional capital markets after several other crypto companies. This listing event not only marks a milestone in the stablecoin sector but also brings considerable returns to investors.

Multiple circuit breakers triggered on the first day of listing, stock price surged significantly

Circle (stock code “CRCL”) performed strongly on its listing day on the New York Stock Exchange. Due to the enthusiastic market response, Circle raised the offering price to $31, increasing the total number of shares issued to 34 million, with total fundraising approaching $1.1 billion. Notably, the oversubscription ratio for this IPO reached 25 times.

On its first day of trading, the CRCL stock price soared to over $100, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism multiple times. The closing price was $83.23, up 168% from the issue price, with a total market capitalization of $18.4 billion and a trading volume exceeding 47.78 million shares, approximately $4.014 billion.

This performance surpassed the first-day performance of several cryptocurrency companies’ IPOs. In terms of market capitalization, although Circle’s closing market cap on the first day did not reach that of some large cryptocurrency exchanges, it significantly exceeded that of other comparable companies. In terms of stock price increase, Circle’s 168% increase also greatly outperformed its peers.

Traditional institutions are highly supportive, while the crypto community responds lukewarmly.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated at the listing that the company has been committed to building a trustworthy, transparent, compliant, ethical, and well-governed enterprise since its inception. He emphasized that adhering to the high regulatory standards of the New York Stock Exchange and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will further deepen Circle’s commitment to these principles.

However, the attitude within the crypto community towards Circle’s listing is relatively lukewarm. The CEO of a certain competitor has questioned Circle’s profitability, believing that the market does not buy into its financials and information disclosures. He even stated that if necessary, their company would launch a compliant version of a stablecoin product aimed at the U.S. market.

Regarding the phenomenon of Circle’s stock price exceeding expectations on its first day, some analysts believe this is mainly due to the current popularity of the stablecoin sector and the previous underestimation of this area by many investors. Industry insiders predict that the cryptocurrency industry may be shifting from the ICO boom to a new round of IPO frenzy.

Multi-round investment institutions receive substantial returns

The listing of Circle is not only a milestone in the company’s development but also allows early investors to achieve substantial returns. According to public data, Circle has completed 9 rounds of financing (including the IPO) to date, with a total financing amount exceeding $2.2 billion.

The following are the estimated return rates for each round calculated based on Circle’s current market capitalization of approximately $18.4 billion:

• Series C (April 2015): 91.78 times
• Series D (May 2016): 43.7 times
• Series E (May 2018): 6.33 times
• $440 million private equity (May 2021): 4.48 times
• $400 million private equity (April 2022): 2.51 times
• IPO: 2.96 times

It is worth noting that Circle has chosen the conventional IPO path, which means the company is willing to accept stricter scrutiny and compliance processes. At the same time, early investors, the founding team, and employees’ shares typically face a “lock-up period” ranging from 90 to 180 days to prevent a concentrated cash-out in the short term that could lead to significant price fluctuations.