Circle Internet Group's stock (CRCL) exploded 674% in just ten trading sessions since its NYSE debut on June 5 at $31 per share, closing Friday June 20 at roughly $240. The surge makes CRCL the best-performing crypto-related stock over the past two weeks, defying geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic headwinds that have rattled broader markets.
Palihapitiya: Traditional IPOs Are 'Value Transfers'
Venture capitalist and SPAC pioneer Chamath Palihapitiya took to X to slam the traditional IPO process. “This was what I was hoping to fix with SPACs,” he wrote. According to Palihapitiya, Circle was forced to sell 14.4 million shares at $31 each, raising $446 million — only for those same shares to balloon to $3.456 billion in market value. The $3 billion windfall, he argued, did not go to the company's team or backers but was funneled to investment banks' favorite clients through mispricing.
“The media plays along by writing headlines telling you a ‘first day pop’ is a good sign. It’s not. It means the deal was mispriced and banks were able to reward their best customers completely unrelated to the company with free stock,” Palihapitiya added.
SPAC vs Traditional IPO: Transparency Debate
Palihapitiya contrasted CRCL's IPO with SPACs, which he said come with openly disclosed terms that can be tailored to benefit both buyers and sellers. A user replied that “both IPOs and SPACs are at least better than staying private forever,” to which Palihapitiya agreed, calling it “also true.”
Coinbase's Direct Listing vs Circle's IPO
Coinbase Global (COIN) took a different route in 2021 with a direct listing. Nasdaq set a reference price of $250, but public trading opened above $340. Two weeks later, COIN closed at $294.53, dropping 13.37% from its opening. In contrast, CRCL’s traditional IPO kicked off an explosive rally, highlighting the stark differences between the two listing mechanisms.
Circle: Stablecoin Giant Lands on Wall Street
Circle is the primary issuer of USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin by market cap. Its listing offers Wall Street direct exposure to the stablecoin ecosystem. Coinbase, as a joint partner in USDC, is deeply intertwined with Circle — when one wins, the other benefits. CRCL’s meteoric rise reflects not only confidence in Circle’s business model but also surging investor appetite for the stablecoin sector.