Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 5th, with the stock code CRCL, breaking through $120 on the second day of listing, which is nearly 4 times the initial listing price.
It seems that early investors should be extremely happy, but some are unhappy because they "bought too little".
Circle's IPO listing still triggered allocation controversy. Digital investment company Arca, after being allocated only $135,000 (against an application of $10 million), sold all Circle holdings. Arca's Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman criticized:
"Circle clearly prioritized traditional financial institutions in the allocation, showing no respect for crypto-native institutions."
Arca therefore closed the Circle account, switched to USDT, and advised distributors to stop using USDC. Meanwhile, some analysts believe Circle's IPO may have caused significant stock price surge due to low initial pricing. Circle stated that fundraising will be used for product investment, potential acquisitions, and brand enhancement. Circle's success encourages crypto companies planning IPOs and shows cryptocurrency's accelerating integration into mainstream finance.
Arca Publicly Breaks Ties
Arca's Investment Director Jeff Dorman made no attempt to hide his disappointment and anger, publicly criticizing Circle's leadership:
"Circle obviously prioritized traditional financial mutual and hedge funds in the IPO allocation, who may have never used Circle's products, showing no respect for native institutions that have supported the crypto ecosystem for years. This approach is not only disappointing but a betrayal of the entire crypto community."
It is reported that digital investment company Arca originally proposed a subscription amount of $10 million but was ultimately allocated only $135,000 in shares.
Arca quickly took a series of countermeasures: immediately selling all allocated Circle stocks, closing all company accounts with Circle, transferring funds to competitor stablecoin Tether (USDT), and calling on crypto distributors to stop using Circle's USDC stablecoin.
This was interpreted by some communities as a collective boycott signal against Circle's alleged "betrayal". However, some speculate whether such a reaction would occur if Circle's stock price had not risen significantly after listing.
