Crypto firm Circle to launch IPO via SPAC merger
16:43, 8 July 2021
Cryptocurrency firm Circle will go public later this year on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Concord Acquisition.
Circle’s co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer Jeremy Allaire made the announcement today in a personal letter published on the company’s website.
According to Allaire, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter and would set a value for the company at $4.5bn. In addition to the $440m in capital the company raised independently, investors participating in the merger have promised $415m in PIPE finances.
“Since our founding in 2013, we have relentlessly pursued global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of financial value, and to connect the world more deeply by building a new global economic system on the foundation of the internet,” Allaire said.
With nearly 10 million retail customers and over a thousand businesses, the Circle platform has participated in more than 100 million transactions, while storing and securing more than $5bn in digital currency assets.
The Why
According to the letter, a part of the company’s mission is helping develop and establish the USD Coin as the fastest growing dollar digital currency in the world. Since the beginning of the year, the coin has grown over 3,400% and now sits at more than $25bn in circulation while powering over $785bn in on-chain transactions.
Circle will continue building a comprehensive suite of internet-native financial services including Circle Account, Circle APIs, Circle Yield, DeFi APIs, and SeedInvest, the firm’s platform for helping companies raise capital directly from investors on the internet.
The deal “is merely a marker in our journey to transform the world’s economic system using internet-native technologies,” Allaire said.
“We are part of a growing multi-stakeholder ecosystem working together to advance what’s possible for the world through the power of crypto-economic systems and blockchain technology.”