Shares of Circle (CRCL) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday, opening at $69 a share in early trading, 123% above the $31 price it had set the night before. The company announced late Wednesday that it sold roughly 34 million shares in its initial public offering, raising $1.1 billion and landing a valuation of $6.9 billion. The listing marks Circle’s long-awaited arrival on public markets after previous attempts, including a failed SPAC deal in 2021. Circle's debut lands in a market still wrestling with an uncertain macroeconomic environment. Earnings season is winding down, and more companies have flagged weak outlooks for the next quarter than strong ones, suggesting that U.S. stocks could face added pressure in the months ahead. But Circle’s core business — issuing the dollar-pegged USDC token — is benefiting from a different trend. Demand for stablecoins has grown in 2025, partly due to progress on U.S. regulation. Policymakers have signaled they’re moving closer to establishing clearer rules, which could help legitimize and expand the use of stablecoins in mainstream finance. Deutsche Bank predicted in a report last month that stablecoins are on the verge of going mainstream. The bank cited their growing role in digital payments, cross-border settlement and treasury management while also reinforcing the U.S. dollar's dominance globally. Circle’s IPO may be early evidence of that shift — an investor bet not just on a crypto company, but on stablecoins becoming essential financial infrastructure. Read more: Circle’s IPO Filing Tests Crypto Market Confidence After Trump’s Tariff Shock Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.