Circle gears up for second attempt at IPO with new SEC filing
Fintech firm Circle has confidentially filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO).
Circle confidentially files draft registration statement for IPO with US SEC
The Massachusetts-headquartered company and issuer of the USDC stablecoin says it has submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the regulator this week as it looks to go public.
The firm’s stock market floatation is expected to commence once the SEC’s review process is complete. Circle has yet to publicly disclose the price point of its IPO, or the number of shares it’s offering.
The filing confirms that Circle’s second attempt at going public is officially underway. It previously planned for an IPO in 2022 via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Concord Acquisition Corp in a deal that would have valued the company at around $9 billion.
However, the move was ultimately called off in December of that year after the SEC failed to approve the deal prior to its deadline.
Circle’s renewed drive for a stock market floatation comes amid changing tides for the US cryptocurrency industry after the SEC approved Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country this week.
Likewise, having acquired a minority stake in Circle last August, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reported that its value had surged almost 400% in 2023, expanding its services into Canada that same year.
For Circle, the news comes shortly after it successfully secured a conditional Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) registration from the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) last week.
The registration marks the beginning of the firm’s French debut, and forms a stepping stone to becoming a licenced payment service provider (PSP) in the country. It also appointed Coralie Billmann to lead its operations in France, subject to regulatory approval.
