Author: Nancy, PANews
Circle successfully went public in the US stock market, with its stock price soaring and significantly boosting market attention to crypto concept stocks. Meanwhile, benefiting from the continuous optimization of the US regulatory environment and policy support, the crypto industry is experiencing a wave of Wall Street ambitions, with more and more crypto institutions actively planning to enter the US capital market.
Circle's stock price surges nearly 600%, investment institutions begin to cash out at high levels
Recently, Circle's performance in the capital market has become the focus of the global financial market. Fortune magazine reported that Circle is one of the seven most underpriced IPO cases in the past 40 years, and this stablecoin giant has been skyrocketing since its listing, not only igniting market sentiment but also demonstrating the market's strong expectations for the stablecoin industry's prospects.
As of the close on June 18, Circle (CRCL) stock closed at $199.59, with a total market value of $44.417 billion, approaching over 70% of the circulation market value of its stablecoin USDC (approximately $61.53 billion). The single-day trading volume that day reached an astonishing 63 million shares, exceeding the record of 60.7 million shares set on the second day of listing. From the intraday high of $215.7, the cumulative increase from its IPO issue price of $31 is as high as 595%, clearly showing the market's enthusiastic participation.
In fact, since its IPO first week, Circle has been leading the trading volume and gain list of the US stock crypto concept sector for multiple consecutive days, backed by the stablecoin narrative premium.
As Circle's stock price continues to surge, its CEO Jeremy Allaire recently emphasized on X that stablecoins might be the most practical monetary form in history, but the entire industry has not yet reached a critical point similar to the "iPhone moment". Once the stablecoin industry enters this stage, developers will be able to unlock programmable digital dollars like unlocking programmable phones, at which time digital dollars will release enormous potential on the internet and bring broad opportunities. This era may not be far away.
Circle's capital boom is not an accidental market frenzy, but a resonance of policy turning points and ecosystem dynamics.
First, US stablecoin regulation is approaching a critical turning point, and Circle, the first stablecoin stock, will become the most direct beneficiary and the best investment target at this stage. On June 17, the US Senate officially passed the GENIUS Act, marking the first time the US establishes a regulatory framework for USD-backed stablecoins through legislation. This bill not only requires stablecoin issuers to have clear reserve proof and audit mechanisms but also paves the way for the legal existence of USD on-chain. The next step is awaiting the House of Representatives' passage and the President's signature to take effect.
Trump also posted on his social media platform that the Senate has passed the GENIUS Act, which will promote large-scale investment and innovation in the digital asset field in the US, calling on the House of Representatives to quickly pass the "clean version" and submit it to the President for signature. At the same time, according to former Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, the US House of Representatives is considering advancing the market structure legislation CLARITY Act and the stablecoin bill GENIUS Act in parallel, in line with Trump's August legislative deadline.
Meanwhile, positive news surrounding Circle and USDC continues to emerge, further expanding the market's imagination of its valuation. For example, Coinbase's derivatives platform recently planned to include USDC in futures trading collateral by 2026; financial infrastructure provider OpenPayd reached a cooperation with Circle, utilizing Circle Wallets' infrastructure to provide a unified fiat and stablecoin infrastructure layer for global enterprises; e-commerce platform Shopify collaborated with Coinbase and Stripe to promote USDC stablecoin payments; ProShares and Bitwise submitted ETF applications based on Circle stock; World Chain launched native USDC, and so on.
However, beneath the heated market sentiment, calm profit-taking has begun to appear. According to public disclosures, early partners who criticized Circle's IPO pricing have announced the sale of all their CRCL shares. Ark Invest, after buying $373 million worth of CRCL stocks on the first day of listing, has recently sold 300,000 shares, accumulating a reduction of about $96.46 million over two consecutive days. Although some reductions are part of normal liquidity management, these actions may be interpreted by the market as cashing out at high levels under the background of consecutive high gains, and investors need to rationally treat FOMO sentiment.
13 institutions queue up to rush to Wall Street, exchanges become the main force of crypto IPOs
Since the beginning of this year, the trend of crypto enterprises going public in the US stock market has accelerated. PANews has compiled 13 crypto-related institutions that have explicitly planned to list on the US stock market.
From the perspective of institutional types, exchanges are the absolute main force for US listing, with a total of 6, including Gemini, Kraken, Bullish Global, FalconX, and Bithumb. These institutions generally have strong cash flow, broad customer base, and stable business structures, and may become the top performers in the capital market under the background of clearer regulation. Meanwhile, the remaining 7 cover investment institutions, custody, and mining industries, and these institutions are also comprehensively seeking valuation reassessment and capital support in the US stock market.
It is worth noting that among these 13 institutions, enterprises with Asian or European backgrounds are not low in proportion, with representative projects including TRON, Bithumb, and Animoca. These institutions choosing the US as their primary listing location is not only a consideration of liquidity and valuation systems but also reflects that the US remains the most attractive capital highland for global crypto enterprises in terms of regulatory framework, capital depth, and institutional participation.
From the time node perspective, 2025 becomes the target window for most crypto enterprises to go public, including FalconX, Bithumb, BitGo, Animoca Brands, American Bitcoin, etc. Many of these projects have previously attempted IPOs but were forced to postpone due to market environment or regulatory obstacles, and are now accelerating again with the favorable environment of regulatory clarity and market recovery.
In terms of progress, some institutions have entered the substantive IPO preparation stage, including submitting prospectus to the SEC, hiring underwriting teams, and restructuring equity structures, standing at the critical "last step" and waiting for the capital window to open before officially entering the market.
In terms of listing paths, traditional IPO remains mainstream, especially favored by institutions with strong compliance capabilities and mature customer structures, such as Gemini, Bullish Global, BitGo, and FalconX. However, traditional IPO processes are complex and have long review cycles, more suitable for medium and large platforms with clear business models and stable profit models.
In comparison, reverse mergers, with simplified processes and faster speed, have become a shortcut for many small and medium-sized crypto institutions. For example, TRON and Nakamoto quickly entered the US stock capital market through backdoor listings, effectively avoiding complex IPO processes while enhancing flexibility.
Another path worth noting is direct listing. Kraken, as a top-tier platform with a valuation of up to $16.2 billion, chose direct listing, abandoning new financing and focusing on establishing liquidity and shareholder exit channels. This model is suitable for unicorn-type enterprises with strong profitability, high brand awareness, and low dependence on financing.
US regulatory environment helps crypto listings, while Hayes predicts a similar EOS outcome
From this perspective, crypto capitalization is entering the fast lane. Behind this wave of listings is the significant improvement of the US regulatory environment. In fact, as early as last year, TheInformation cited industry sources that after Trump's potential election, investment bankers from top Wall Street institutions like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley have been meeting with crypto company executives, hoping to seize IPO opportunities for crypto companies after the election.
David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, directly stated that the current is the golden time for crypto companies to go public, mainly for two key reasons: first, crypto stocks are performing strongly on Wall Street, and second, the regulatory environment is improving with the policy stance's transformation.
JPMorgan also noted in a recent report that the advancement of the GENIUS bill is expected to continuously improve the US crypto regulatory environment, which is driving more crypto companies to seek IPOs. So far this year, the number of crypto company IPOs has matched the bull market levels of 2021. This wave comes as the SEC withdraws lawsuits against some of the industry's largest companies, including Kraken, Binance, Ripple, and Coinbase.
Andrei Grachev, partner at DWF Labs, believes that crypto projects should establish trading tools by listing on Nasdaq to attract traditional investors and convert them into long-term token holders by selling shares, thereby helping to develop the crypto market.
In a recent interview, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes revealed that his family office Maelstrom plans to raise investor funds to acquire specific crypto companies, particularly those with very stable cash flow and strong profitability. The management structure of these companies may be restructured, with a focus on adding new revenue sources. In the future, Maelstrom also plans to go public in the US through a SPAC.
However, he also warned that the crypto industry is transitioning from the ICO boom of 2017 to an IPO frenzy of 2025-2027. This wave will end with a large IPO similar to EOS, which will attract significant fiat capital but perform poorly after opening. For new stablecoin issuers lacking channel support, he believes that even if they successfully go public, they will struggle to maintain high valuations and may ultimately be reduced to zero.
