USDC stablecoin issuer Circle made a striking debut on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, with its stock soaring 167% on the first day of trading.

Listed under the ticker CRCL, Circle's shares opened at $31 and surged as much as 235% in early trading before ending the day at $82. The strong performance points to rising investor interest in stablecoin-focused companies.

Investor demand for the IPO was notably high. BlackRock had announced plans to acquire a 10% stake, and Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment reportedly aimed to purchase $150 million worth of shares.

The momentum pushed Circle to raise its offering to a marketed value of $1.05 billion, with 34 million shares available.

Circle is the company behind the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC. Although the IPO had been in preparation for several months, it was delayed due to macroeconomic uncertainties tied to ongoing trade disputes.

Not everyone welcomed the IPO’s outcome. Arca Chief Investment Officer Jeff Dorman voiced frustration in a now-deleted post on X, criticizing Circle for allocating only $135,000 in shares to Arca, which he described as one of the company’s earliest supporters.

“Most of us stick together and help each other,” he wrote, expressing disbelief at what he saw as a minimal and dismissive allocation. Dorman also remarked that Arca’s leadership had intentionally left Wall Street years ago to escape the practices of traditional finance, ending with a jab: “Ironically, you’ve come full Circle.”

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-stock-price-jumps-167-in-first-day-of-trading-after-ipo

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CRCL/