While crypto investors have been rattled in a chaotic first quarter, Circle, the stablecoin issuer, is moving forward with its biggest bet yet.
On Tuesday, Circle said it would hold an initial public offering this year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Even though the crypto market has lost a fifth of its value in 2025, Circle is wagering that the timing for its IPO is right for one big reason — Washington is poised to usher in a long-desired framework for stablecoins.
Intense public scrutiny
Unlike Tether, which has largely shunned regulatory regimes, Circle’s growth strategy is predicated on compliance with financial regulations and commanding a big share of the US stablecoin market.
“Circle has for a long time been under intense public scrutiny,” Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s co-founder and CEO, said in the filing.
“The demands of operating an always-on, regulated digital dollar infrastructure require that Circle operates with high levels of transparency, as well as significant regulatory supervision by government agencies spanning the United States and the world.”
Still, Circle, which is based in New York and is backed by Goldman Sachs, has struggled to match Tether’s growth.
Tether’s USDT stablecoin sports a $144 billion market value, which is more than twice USDC’s.
Moreover, Circle generated $156 million in net income on $1.7 billion in revenues in 2024, according to its filing. While that bottom line is robust, the numbers are hardly eye-popping in the gaudy world of crypto.
Trump’s stablecoin
And yet Allaire clearly believes the two pieces of stablecoin legislation winding their way through the Senate and the House will be game changers.
The Genius Act has already cleared a committee vote in the Senate. And House members are weighing the latest version of the Stable Act.
Given that one of the Trump family’s myriad crypto ventures has also planned to issue its own stablecoin, it’s safe to say the president will probably sign the legislation into law.
For the first time, stablecoin issuers should have clear rules governing their offerings, and this, in turn, should stoke ample growth.
Banks, for starters, appear keen to play in the space.
Earlier this year, Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, said the second biggest lender in the US would enter the fray should one or both of the proposed acts become law.
With PayPal, Robinhood, MasterCard and even Fidelity Digital Assets either utilising, developing, or testing stablecoins, it appears the instruments are poised to become a cog in the multi-trillion dollar payments processing industry.
“It’s going to be a new payment method,” Chris Colson, a payments expert at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, told DL News in February.
“It’s going to happen because it’s already happening.”
Choppy waters
Even so, Circle still has to navigate the choppy waters of the crypto market just like everyone else.
It’s striking that Circle chose to announce its IPO on the eve of Trump’s self-styled “Liberation Day.”
On Wednesday, the administration is expected to introduce a host of import tariffs and usher in a period of trade conflict that has investors running for cover in gold.
Like stocks, Bitcoin and its ilk have tumbled as investors fear Trump’s protectionism will spur inflation and prompt the Federal Reserve to maintain interest rates at 4.25 to 4.5% or raise them.
The uncertainty in volatile crypto markets has already benefitted players like Circle. USDC just hit a record all-time high of $60 billion on March 26, suggesting that crypto investors are happy to hedge with stablecoins.
But Circle has time to debut its stock, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CRCL, according to the filing.
Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are the lead underwriters, and the crypto firm is eyeing a valuation of up to $5 billion.
By the time the third or fourth quarter rolls around, the marketplace may look vastly different than it does now.
Liam Kelly is a Berlin-based reporter for DL News. Got a tip? Email him at liam@dlnews.com.