Circle confidentially files for IPO following banner year for crypto stocks
A woman holds a smartphone with the USD Coin logo displayed on the screen.
Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a little more than a year after terminating a deal to go public via a special purpose acquisition company.
The public listing is expected to take place once the SEC finishes its review, “subject to market and other conditions,” Circle said in the two-paragraph press release Thursday.
The tech IPO market has been largely dormant for two years after a record year in 2021, as investors turned away from risk due to rising interest rates. However, crypto shares soared last year, producing some of the best gains across the U.S. stock market, bolstered by a 150% jump in the price of bitcoin.
Founded in 2013, Circle is best known as the issuer of USD Coin, the world’s second-biggest U.S. dollar pegged stablecoin, which was launched in 2018. USDC has a market capitalization of more than $25.2 billion. Tether is its biggest stablecoin rival with a collective value of more than $94.6 billion.
Circle had previously planned to go public through a SPAC with Concord Acquisition Corp. in a deal that would have valued the company at about $9 billion. But the SPAC market collapsed in 2022, and Circle ended that agreement in December of that year, just after crypto exchange FTX spiraled into bankruptcy.
The timing of the latest announcement comes amid a groundswell of support for the cryptocurrency sector. Coinbase, which took a stake in Circle in August, jumped almost 400% in value in 2023, and other crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital enjoyed hefty rallies.
On Wednesday, the SEC approved the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, and industry bulls are betting that new retail and institutional investors are poised to jump into the digital asset market.
Bitcoin briefly topped $49,000, reaching levels not seen since December 2021, ahead of trading for ETFs on Thursday. The price of ether surged above $2,600, the highest since May 2022.
— CNBC’s Rohan Goswami contributed to this report.
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On today’s sunny side up episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at the latest from the world of solar power, and discuss Congressional Republicans’ plans to limit your energy independence by eliminating a critical tax credit for homeowners nearly ten years early. (!)
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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A Waymo autonomous vehicle drives along Masonic Avenue on April 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Alphabet’s Waymo unit has received approval to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service to more parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose.
In March, the company submitted a request to the California Public Utilities Commission to gain approval for its latest passenger safety plan, a key step in gaining permission to operate driverless vehicles across a broader area. On Monday, the proposed expansion was approved, allowing for Waymo’s driverless coverage to extend from San Francisco down through the Peninsula.
“We’re very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!” the company wrote in a post on X on Monday. “While this won’t change our operations in the near-term, we’re looking forward to bringing the benefits of Waymo One to more of the Bay Area in the future.”
The $5 billion Empire Wind is back in business. The Trump administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has lifted its stop-work order for Empire Wind, a major offshore wind project off the coast of New York led by Empire Offshore Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Equinor. Construction is now allowed to resume.
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal welcomed the news, saying the restart reinforces Equinor’s commitment to delivering clean energy while supporting local economies and saving thousands of jobs. He also credited a wide coalition of officials for helping get the project back on track, including Trump, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and congressional leaders like Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Dan Goldman. Opedal also thanked the Norwegian prime minister and the minister of finance for raising the issue with the US administration.
Governor Hochul said in a statement that “countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials” had taken place.
Neither the BOEM nor the Department of the Interior has issued a comment.
The Trump administration halted construction of the 54-turbine Empire Wind on April 16, but discussions between Equinor, regulators, and leaders at the federal, state, and city levels led to a reversal. That means Empire Wind can now push ahead with its goal of powering 500,000 New York homes with offshore wind energy.
“This project delivers on the energy ambitions shared by the US and New York by providing a vital new source of power to the region,” said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Wind US. She added that Empire Wind is boosting supply chain investments across the country, with activity in New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and South Carolina.
Equinor plans to reassess the project’s financials in the second quarter. The goal is still to install turbines offshore in 2025 and hit full commercial operation by 2027. The company says it will work with suppliers and regulators to minimize any delays from the month-long pause.
Empire Wind was first awarded its offshore lease in 2017 after a competitive federal process. It received its final construction green light in early 2024 following an extensive environmental review. Construction kicked off shortly after, and the project is now over 30% complete.
The US is a major market for Equinor. The Norwegian energy giant says it has invested around $60 billion in US energy projects since the early 2000s, more recently in low-carbon solutions, critical minerals, and renewables. Empire Wind is one of its flagship projects in the US.
Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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