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are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that offer a buffer against volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. That makes them a much more reliable means of conducting commercial transactions than other forms of crypto.

Interest in Circle’s initial public offering is high. The company’s underwriters priced the offering at $31 per share Wednesday, up from an expected range of $27 to $28. The number of shares being sold was raised to 34 million from 32 million. Circle is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “CRCL.”

The stock price soared above $96 at one point Thursday afternoon and landed at $83.23 by closing. Circle's initial public offering is one of the biggest public listings for a crypto-related company since the exchange Coinbase went public in 2021.

The dominant player in the stablecoin field is El Salvador-based Tether, which has the stablecoin known as USDT that currently has about $150 billion in circulation. USDC is the second most popular stablecoin market cap, with about $60 billion in circulation.

Circle said in a regulatory filing that USDC has been used for more than “$25 trillion in onchain transactions” since its launch in 2018.

Revenue-wise the company has seen tremendous growth, going from just $15 million in 2020 to $1.7 billion in 2024.

Stablecoin issuers make profits by collecting the interest on the assets they hold in reserve to back their stablecoins. Circle said USDC is backed by “cash, short-dated US Treasuries and overnight US Treasury repurchase agreements with leading global banks.”

Circle’s IPO comes amid a push by the Trump administration and the crypto industry to pass legislation that would regulate how stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S. A Senate bill last month with bipartisan support.

There is also growing competition in the stablecoin field. A crypto enterprise partly owned by the Trump family just launched its own stablecoin, USD1.

Circle said its long track record and values – the company says its mission statement is “to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value” – will help it stand apart in the field.