Shares of Circle bolted nearly 200% higher before trading was halted Thursday, as the stablecoin issuer launched its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Trump Media and Technology Group on Wednesday filed for a new bitcoin ETF. Crypto prices eased on Thursday.
Circle Internet Group officially went public on Thursday and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CRCL. Shares traded above 88 in initial action, triggering a temporary circuit breaker trading stop.
Shares closed at 83.23 on Thursday, marking about a 168% gain on the day.
The stablecoin issuer on Wednesday announced that it raised nearly $1.1 billion after selling 34 million shares at $31 per share. The IPO price was increased from its prior upwardly revised range of $27 to $28 per share. At that time, Circle and its underwriters planned to sell 32 million shares.
Circle also granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5.1 million shares of stock.
The $31 IPO price puts Circle's market capitalization in the ballpark of $6.9 billion.
Circle issues USD Coin, the second-largest stablecoin, often referred to as USDC. USDC represents about 24% of the total stablecoin market cap, trailing only Tether at around 60%, according to data from crypto exchange Kraken.
As of March 31, USDC had $60.1 billion in circulation across 4.9 million wallets.
Stablecoins are crypto tokens intended to hold their value at a certain price point, usually $1, and are backed by another asset.
Trump Media To Launch Bitcoin ETF
Elsewhere, Trump Media on Thursday announced plans to launch a new bitcoin ETF. The company filed a registration statement with the SEC for a Truth Social Bitcoin ETF. The new ETF will directly hold bitcoin and offer shares to investors, with the aim of reflecting bitcoin's price performance.
Crypto.com was tapped to serve as the exclusive custodian, execution agent and liquidity provider for the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF.
The release did not include an official launch date. The registration is still pending certain approvals with the SEC. Once launched, shares will list on the NYSE ARCA.
President Donald Trump and his family have been making massive pushes into the crypto industry amid looser regulations and a more crypto-friendly environment under the current administration.
World Liberty Financial, another Trump business and company behind the USD1 stablecoin, last month was tapped to power a $2 billion investment between Abu Dhabi-based MGX and Binance.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have also launched their own meme coins. President Trump in late May hosted an exclusive dinner event at his Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., for his top meme coin buyers.
Bitcoin Price, Crypto Stocks
The price of bitcoin eased on Thursday to near $101,200. Bitcoin is down almost 5% this week, continuing to retreat from its May 22 record of $111,970. The cryptocurrency has advanced about 8% so far this year.
Coinbase stock reversed from an early climb to slide 4.6% Thursday. Shares are down 1.7% so far this year.
Strategy declined 2.5%, paring its 2025 advance to over 27%.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust and other spot bitcoin ETFs fell about 3% Thursday. Shares of the group have retreated from their respective buy zones after attempting to break out in late May.
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