While bitcoin experienced a choppy session on Friday, Circle Internet Group shares (CRCL) jumped another 22% during the day. Over the past 15 days — or 10 trading sessions on the New York Stock Exchange — CRCL has soared 674%, making it the best-performing crypto-related stock in the last two weeks.
CRCL Rockets 674% in 10 Trading Days
Starting at $31 per share on June 5, CRCL has been snapped up with intense interest. By the close of Friday, June 20, the stock had accumulated 10 trading days on Wall Street, soaring 674% against the U.S. dollar. The rally defies ongoing geopolitical ripples and macro headwinds moving through global markets.
Chamath Criticizes Traditional IPO
Venture capitalist and entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya weighed in on X about CRCL's meteoric rise. “This is what I hoped to fix with SPACs,” he posted. Palihapitiya argued that Circle had no choice but to offload 14.4 million shares at $31 each, raising $446 million — only to see those same shares grow to $3.456 billion shortly thereafter. In his view, this $3 billion gain did not go to the company's team or backers but was instead channeled into the pockets of investment banks' favorite clients.
He drew a clear line between this and SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) or direct listings, which he says come with openly disclosed terms and can be tailored to benefit both buyers and sellers. “And the media plays along by writing headlines telling you how a ‘first-day pop’ is a good sign. It's not. It means the deal was mispriced, and the banks were able to reward their best customers — completely unrelated to the company in question — with free shares,” Palihapitiya added.
When a user replied that both IPOs and SPACs are at least better than staying private forever, Palihapitiya agreed, calling it “also true.”
Comparison with Coinbase: A Different Path
Coinbase Global (COIN) took a notably different route via a direct listing. Nasdaq set a reference price of $250 per share, but public trading began well above that, opening above $340. By April 29, 2021, COIN closed at $294.53. In contrast to CRCL's explosive debut, COIN fell 13.37% over the same timeframe. While Coinbase operates as a crypto exchange, Circle plays a heavyweight role in the stablecoin world — and Wall Street is now getting its first taste of that sector through Circle's debut. Nevertheless, Coinbase remains closely tied to Circle through the USDC partnership, meaning gains for one often lift the other.