USDC stablecoin issuer Circle prices its IPO between $24 and $26 a share valuing the firm at $5.4 billion

Today the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, Circle, announced the price range for its stock offering as between $24 and $26 valuing the firm at $5.4 billion.

Today marks a crucial juncture for Circle (NYSE:CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, as it announced plans for an initial public offering (IPO) with a stock price range of $24 to $26.

At this valuation, the firm is valued at $5.4 billion. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange with a ticker symbol of CRCL.

However, the IPO faced uncertainty after President Trump unveiled far-ranging tariffs shortly after Circle published its prospectus for the IPO at the start of April. Due to the market volatility that followed, many believed the IPO window might have temporarily closed.

In the meantime, Ripple reportedly made a bid for the company of around $5 billion, which was rejected. There were rumors that Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) was also interested in acquiring Circle, which could have been a more attractive option for the stablecoin firm.

Another acquisition might give the company indigestion after Coinbase already agreed to acquire crypto options firm Deribit for $2.9 billion and the exchange also disclosed a data breach following the bribery of some support personnel.

As part of the IPO, Circle is aiming to raise $250 million, with the underwriters given the option to acquire additional shares worth almost $94 million to cover overallotments. Existing investors plan to sell $374 million of stock. JP Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are joint lead managers.

In the run-up to the IPO, Circle announced the Circle Payment Network to remove some of the frictions in cross-border payments. While stablecoins help, the last mile of converting between stablecoins and conventional currency can prove challenging. The network involves several major banks such as Deutsche Bank, Santander, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered.

A critical juncture for stablecoins

News of the IPO comes as stablecoins face a critical juncture. The US is on the cusp of approving the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation, which potentially favors Circle more than its biggest competitor Tether.

Since the US election, which brought in a more crypto-friendly administration, the market capitalization of USDC has grown 73% versus Tether’s 27%, although USDC had a far smaller starting base. In absolute terms, Circle has grown $26 billion to $61.5 billion since the election, compared to Tether’s growth of $32 billion to $152.5 billion.

At the same time, competition is heating up. Circle’s stablecoin USDC is the second-largest, but is the largest onshore stablecoin, given Tether is issued out of El Salvador. Several new stablecoin issuers have come forward. For example, the Trump-linked World Liberty Financial issued the USD1 stablecoin and the Wall Street Journal recently reported that banks are exploring issuing a joint stablecoin. Stripe unveiled stablecoin financial accounts for small businesses, and its subsidiary Bridge is issuing a stablecoin, USDB.

The number of acquisitions in the crypto sphere has also accelerated. A key benefit for Circle as a listed firm is it puts it in a more advantageous position if it wants to acquire other startups.