Circle's IPO: The "Normandy Landing" of Cryptocurrency, as Traditional Financial Barriers Collapse

Last night, the global capital market witnessed an epic "financial landing battle"—stablecoin giant Circle made a stunning debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with an astonishing 168% increase in value, its market value soaring to $18 billion in an instant!

This is not only the most sensational IPO of 2025 but also the "Normandy moment" when cryptocurrency launched a full-scale offensive against the traditional financial system.

When Circle's ticker symbol "CRCL" began to flash on the NYSE's large screen, the veteran Wall Street bankers might not have realized that what they were witnessing was not just the IPO of a company, but the beginning of a "digital financial revolution" that would upend the traditional financial order!

Consultation: Real-World-Assets

Behind the 168% Surge: The Collective "Surrender" of Traditional Capital Markets

Circle's frenzied performance on its first day of trading is destined to be recorded in financial history—its stock price soared from an IPO price of $31 to $83.23, with an intra-day peak increase of over 234%!

This near-delirious market response is not a simple speculative bubble, but rather a collective "conversion" of traditional capital to crypto assets.

It is worth noting that this remarkable achievement was accomplished against the backdrop of an overall decline in the US stock market due to the "feud" between Musk and Trump! The continued 5% increase in after-hours trading further suggests that this celebration has only just begun.

"This is not a regular IPO; it is the surrender letter from traditional finance to the crypto world!" exclaimed a Wall Street hedge fund manager on the trading floor.

The trust vote cast by the market with real money indicates that stablecoins, once regarded as "financial heresies," have now been accepted as legitimate members of the global financial system. The full support of traditional financial giants such as BlackRock and Ark Capital symbolizes that crypto assets have evolved from "underground economy" to a standard asset class for institutional investors.

It is particularly noteworthy that Circle's rare move of increasing the IPO issuance size three times—increase from the initial 24 million shares to 34 million shares, with the issuance price range eventually set at $31 from the initial $24-$26.

This "supply cannot meet demand" situation, almost extinct in recent IPO markets, has reappeared in a "coin-issuing" company! The market is declaring in the most primitive way that the transfer of financial power has already begun.


The "Coming-of-Age" of Stablecoins: From the Gray Zone to the Financial Mainstream

The most profound significance of Circle's IPO lies in the fact that it marks the transformation of stablecoins from a "financial experiment" to a "mainstream asset."

As the issuer of the world's second-largest stablecoin, USDC, Circle's listing is not an isolated business event but a milestone in the entire crypto industry's compliance process.

"Circle's IPO certificate is the 'financial birth certificate' for stablecoins," commented industry observers. This breakthrough coincides with the historic moment when the US Senate passed the GENIUS Act, creating a policy-market resonance that clears the last institutional barriers for the stablecoin industry.

From now on, stablecoin issuance is no longer a "fringe business" for tech companies but a "legitimate financial business" regulated by the SEC and listed on the NYSE!

The current $60 billion market value and 25% market share of USDC (second only to USDT) have proven that stablecoins are no longer just an "auxiliary tool" for cryptocurrency trading but a financial infrastructure with independent value.

More excitingly, Circle's business model—issuing stablecoins to obtain dollar reserves and invest in US Treasury bonds—though simple, has shown astonishing profitability: in 2024, it generated $1.676 billion in revenue, with 99% coming from reserve interest.

The success of this "digital banking" model heralds that traditional banking's profit pool is being quietly taken over by stablecoin issuers!

Chinese Capital's "Foresight" and Hong Kong's "Asymmetric Competition"

In this global financial upheaval, Chinese capital has demonstrated remarkable foresight.

Chinese institutions such as IDG Capital, China Everbright Holdings, and Wanxiang Group participated in Circle's C/D rounds of financing as early as 2015-2016. Now, with Circle's IPO, these "early believers" are about to reap rich rewards for their 6-10 years of perseverance.

Especially China Everbright Holdings, whose share price has soared by 42% recently, from HK$4.35 to HK$6.22, due to its holdings in Circle.

"Chinese capital has once again proven its strategic vision in the global chessboard of crypto finance," pointed out analysts.

Although these Chinese shareholders may choose to gradually exit due to the policy environment, their early forward-looking layout has already written a brilliant chapter in the internationalization of Chinese venture capital.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong is accelerating its layout in the stablecoin market with a "legislation-first + sandbox experiment" model. The Stablecoin Bill passed on May 21 echoes the US GENIUS Act. JD.com, Yuanbi, and Standard Chartered Bank have become the first batch of companies in Hong Kong to be approved to enter the compliant stablecoin regulatory sandbox.

This "asymmetric competition" strategy not only provides a new path for the internationalization of the RMB but also ensures that Hong Kong does not fall behind in the global digital financial transformation.

The New Financial Order: When "Digital Dollars" Take Over the World

The most shocking revelation of Circle's IPO is that the US dollar hegemony is being extended and strengthened in another form.

As a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, USDC is essentially a "digital dollar," and its global circulation means another expansion of the US dollar's influence.

When Circle deposits the dollars used by users to purchase USDC into US Treasury bonds, it actually creates a virtuous cycle: more USDC in circulation → more dollars buying US Treasury bonds → a stronger global position for the US dollar.

This model is especially profitable in the current high-interest-rate environment but also exposes Circle's "Achilles' heel"—over-reliance on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

Once the US enters a rate-cutting cycle, Circle's interest income will face a significant reduction.

However, as the penetration rate of USDC in payment, DeFi, and other scenarios increases, transaction fee income is expected to become a new growth point, reducing sensitivity to interest rates.

More alarming is the "dimensional reduction attack" of stablecoins on traditional banking. When people can convert fiat currency to USDC at any time and enjoy on-chain financial services, traditional banks' deposit and cross-border remittance businesses will be the first to be impacted.

"Circle is not a tech company but a digital bank that conducts banking business without a banking license," the researcher's comment reveals the existential crisis faced by traditional financial institutions.

Founder Allaire's "Third Miracle" and Industry Enlightenment

Circle founder Jeremy Allaire's entrepreneurial history is itself a Silicon Valley legend.

This serial entrepreneur had previously successfully taken two companies public—Allaire Corporation in 1999 and Brightcove in 2012.

Now, Circle has become his career's "third IPO milestone," an achievement that is rare even in the American entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Allaire's success lies in his forward-looking compliance awareness. As early as 2023, he called for the US to enact digital asset management legislation at the Davos Forum and proactively sought regulation from the Federal Reserve.

This "regulation-embracing" strategy, which may seem conservative, has won Circle the trust and cooperation of traditional financial giants such as BlackRock.

In 2024, BlackRock even signed an agreement with Circle, promising not to develop its own stablecoin within four years in exchange for the priority right to manage 90% of Circle's dollar reserves. This deep integration has built an insurmountable competitive barrier for Circle.

"The enlightenment that Allaire gives to crypto entrepreneurs is simple: to conquer traditional finance, one must first learn its language and rules," pointed out industry commentators. In the crypto industry's culture that generally resists regulation, Circle's compliance-first strategy has become its strongest competitive advantage.

The Future Battlefield: The Era of Stablecoin 2.0 Has Arrived

With Circle's IPO, the stablecoin industry will enter the 2.0 era characterized by "compliance, diversification, and ecosystem building." Three trends are already clear:

Firstly, the compliance competition will intensify. Circle's successful IPO has set a benchmark for the industry, and competitors such as Tether and Paxos will inevitably accelerate their compliance processes. Regulatory arbitrage space will quickly disappear, and only those with fully transparent reserve management and strictly compliant issuers will survive.

Secondly, application scenarios will expand explosively. Stablecoins will no longer be limited to cryptocurrency trading but will penetrate cross-border payments, corporate settlements, on-chain finance, and other scenarios comprehensively. It is predicted that in the next few years, the market share of stablecoins in cross-border payments may grow from less than 1% to over 10%.

Lastly, ecosystem binding will become the core competitiveness. Circle's deep cooperation with BlackRock has already demonstrated the importance of ecosystem building. In the future, the stablecoin issuer that can build the strongest partner network and integrate the most diverse financial service scenarios will occupy the high ground in competition.

Conclusion: We Are Witnessing History

As Circle's stock price keeps fluctuating on the NYSE's electronic screen, perceptive observers have already realized that this is not just a stock transaction, but the prelude to a new era.

The transition of stablecoins from the periphery to the mainstream signifies that digital finance has finally earned the right to have an equal dialogue with traditional finance.

"June 5, 2025, will be recorded in financial history—not as Circle's IPO day, but as the 'Financial New Year's Day' when traditional finance and crypto finance officially merged," wrote a well-known economist on social media.

For those who still harbor skepticism towards cryptocurrencies, Circle's IPO offers the most powerful response: when traditional financial giants like BlackRock and Ark Capital are voting for stablecoins with real money, should skeptics reflect on whether their stance is already outdated?

For practitioners in the crypto industry, Circle's success sends an even more inspiring message: compliance is not a shackle but a pair of wings. Only by actively embracing regulation and building a transparent and sustainable business model can crypto technology truly realize its grand vision of "changing the world's financial system."

Last night, Circle declared with a 168% increase that the future of finance has arrived; it is just not evenly distributed yet. Are you ready to embrace this transformation?