Circle stock (CRCL) exploded higher in its first day of trading on Thursday, rising as much as 200% in afternoon trading after the stablecoin issuer made its long-anticipated public market debut.
Shares were halted for trade more than once during the day due to volatility as the stock rose rapidly after opening at around $69 apiece.
The company priced its IPO at $31 on Wednesday night.
At session highs, the company’s market capitalization stood north of $20 billion.
Read more about Circle’s IPO and today’s market action.
Circle issues the stablecoin USDC (USDC-USD), which is backed by the dollar. There was $60 billion worth of USDC in circulation at the end of the first quarter.
In the first three months of the year, the company’s revenue and reserve income totaled $578.6 million, up 58.5% from a year ago. The company makes most of its revenue from “reserve income,” which is what it makes on cash backing USDC that is held in banks or invested in Treasury bills. Circle’s adjusted EBITA tallied $122.4 million in the first quarter.
In 2021, the company attempted to go public via SPAC before calling off the plans a year later.
Circle is the second-largest stablecoin issuer in the market behind Tether (USDT-USD), which has closer to $150 billion in circulation.
The company’s IPO comes amid what’s been a significantly more positive environment for cryptocurrency markets, with Trump’s election — and his family’s business involvement in the space — providing a tailwind to the sector, with bitcoin hitting record highs north of $110,000 earlier this month.
Public companies have also ramped up their exposure to cryptocurrencies or pivoted their strategies entirely to mimic the bitcoin treasury strategy employed most successfully by Michael Saylor at Strategy (MSTR) in recent years.
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