Circle Upsizes IPO to 34 Million Shares at $31 Each

Circle, the issuer of the stablecoin, has taken a significant step towards its public debut. On Wednesday, the company announced the pricing of its initial public offering (IPO), with shares expected to be priced at $31. The IPO has been upsized, and the company is set to go public on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The firm now plans to offer 34 million shares, an increase from its initial plan to offer 24 million shares. This announcement comes just days after Circle filed an amendment to its S-1, adjusting the offering and the price. The filing indicated that the company intended to offer 32 million Class A common stock in its public markets debut, a significant increase from its initial plan.

Circle had previously indicated that the offering price would be between $27 to $28, an increase from the original range of $24 and $26. This adjustment was seen as a clear signal of strong demand among institutions. The stablecoin issuer also noted that Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest showed interest in buying roughly $150 million worth of shares, and there were indications that BlackRock might also look to acquire Circle shares.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, commented that Circle is positioning itself as a “boring is beautiful trade” for institutions seeking crypto exposure without balance sheet risk. However, he also noted that retail investors might find it harder to latch on to Circle due to its lack of volatility, beta, meme potential, or brand recognition compared to other crypto platforms like Coinbase.

Circle was expected to debut on the public markets this week after filing its original S-1 amendment last week. Jay Woods, chief global strategist for Freedom Capital Markets, had previously suggested that Thursday might be the chosen date for the debut, as it has become a popular choice for IPOs over a Wednesday debut. As Circle finalized its IPO, which it officially announced at the beginning of last year, there were rumors of a potential acquisition by either Coinbase or Ripple. However, the S-1 amendment pretty much put the talks of acquisitions to rest, at least for now.