Circle, the company behind the second-largest stablecoin USDC, officially began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker CRCL on June 5. The public debut marks a major milestone for the crypto industry, as Circle becomes one of the highest-profile blockchain firms to list on a major U.S. exchange.

Co-founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, Circle’s vision has long been to reimagine the global financial system by building it natively on the internet. Allaire called the IPO a “significant and powerful milestone,” emphasizing that it signals a shift toward a digital financial era. The listing follows a $1.05 billion upsized initial public offering, with 34 million shares sold at $31 each—far above the originally planned 24 million shares.

The listing drew high-profile support from industry leaders like Michael Saylor and Coinbase’s Paul Grewal, highlighting Circle’s growing influence in both traditional finance and crypto markets. Allaire expressed gratitude to supporters, calling the launch a defining moment in merging the internet with global finance.

Circle’s entry into public markets comes at a time of explosive growth for its flagship product. USDC’s market cap has soared by over 40% year-to-date, climbing from $43.7 billion at the start of 2025 to over $61.5 billion. Though still trailing behind rival Tether’s $153.9 billion market cap, USDC’s rise reflects growing institutional trust in regulated stablecoins.

Unlike Tether, which has not shown interest in going public, Circle’s NYSE debut sets a precedent for transparency and legitimacy in the stablecoin space. Other players like PayPal have entered the market with smaller offerings, but Circle’s IPO puts it firmly at the forefront of crypto-finance integration.