Stablecoin issuer Circle got off to a strong start in its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), opening its shares at $69, 123% above its $31 IPO price. The stock was briefly halted by a circuit breaker after a sudden 145% surge after the opening. At the time of last trading, Circle shares were trading at $87. The company raised over $1 billion in capital in its IPO, a strong indication of Wall Street’s continued interest in the cryptocurrency market. According to Brand Lynn, Director of Market Analysis at EquityZen, Circle’s IPO is the first major IPO in the crypto space since Coinbase’s IPO in 2021. “Circle has been preparing for its IPO for a long time. They had planned to go public through a SPAC merger in 2022. The right hiring, auditing, and reporting infrastructures were already in place,” Lynn said. The company’s IPO comes at a time when confidence in the industry is growing, with new bills being considered in the U.S. Congress aimed at regulating stablecoins, along with plans by major financial institutions to launch their own digital currencies. Circle’s successful IPO also sets an encouraging example for other companies waiting in the wings in the IPO market. Lynn noted that companies like Omada Health, Chime, StubHub, and Caris Life Sciences are also in line to go public in the coming days. “June has historically been one of the months with the highest returns and best first days of trading for IPOs. Companies are looking to capitalize on this short window of opportunity as market activity slows down in the summer months,” he said. *This is not investment advice.